Education / Bellingham
One quick question: What’s a Kelvin wave, anyway?
A Kelvin wave is approaching North America’s West Coast, hitting California’s beaches in early October before making its way up the coast to Washington. The promise of elevated tides and a strong El Niño can bring to mind images of tidal floods straight out of a disaster movie. What exactly is a Kelvin wave, and is it as scary as it sounds?
Western Washington University published this notice on 2026-10-08. The following highlights are selected excerpts from the full source.
A Kelvin wave is approaching North America’s West Coast, hitting California’s beaches in early October before making its way up the coast to Washington. The promise of elevated tides and a strong El Niño can bring to mind images of tidal floods straight out of a disaster movie. What exactly is a Kelvin wave, and is it as scary as it sounds?
We asked Professor of Environmental Science Erika McPhee-Shaw: Should we be worried about the Kelvin wave?
“Kelvin waves are something that happen regularly in nature.
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Western Washington University →Source publication: Oct 8, 2026
Source checked: Oct 15, 2026
Brief prepared: Oct 8, 2026
Automatically prepared from the linked public source. Source-digest highlights are quoted excerpts, not independent reporting. Dates and claims remain those of the source.