Ocean temperatures off the California coast are surging to shockingly high levels as a historic El Niño grows even stronger.
On Monday, a sea surface temperature of 74.5 degrees Fahrenheit was measured at the Scripps Pier in San Diego. It’s the highest temperature measured this late in the year at the pier in more than a century of records. Daily records are being set as far north as Point Reyes, with temperatures running as high as 9 degrees above normal in Monterey and Santa Barbara.
The unusual heat is drawing tropical fish coastward, killing kelp forests, pushing tides to record high heights and providing extra fuel for storms…