San Francisco Embarcadero floods as El Niño tides peak 2 feet above normal

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Seawater closed part of San Francisco's Embarcadero on Oct. 27 after tides ran 2.1 feet above normal. The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood advisory for low-lying areas across the Bay Area, and the city shut a sidewalk and bike lane along the waterfront.

The high water ties to a coming El Niño, which warms Pacific waters and pushes West Coast tides higher. Port officials say they have a playbook for flooding — barriers, closures and pumps — and the city declared a local emergency last week ahead of anticipated storms.

Why it matters

If this El Niño delivers the storms forecasters predict, Bay Area waterfronts face repeated flooding and hundreds of millions in damage this winter.

Monday: what changed in San Francisco, CA

One short email a week with the openings, closings, permits and council votes we covered. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

2.1 ft

Peak high-tide reading

Tides on Oct. 27 ran 2.1 feet above normal, per the NWS Bay Area forecast.

1.9 ft

Tide forecast for Oct. 28

The NWS expected tides to top 1.9 feet above normal the following day.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Eric Young

Spokesperson, Port of San Francisco

Publicly framed the flooding as tied to the coming El Niño

Organizations Involved

Port of San Francisco

Municipal port authority

Operating its flood-response playbook

The port manages San Francisco's waterfront and says it is ready to deploy barriers and pumps against flooding.

National Weather Service Bay Area

Federal weather agency

Issuing coastal flood advisories

NWS Bay Area issued a coastal flood advisory for low-lying areas and forecast tides at 2.1 feet above normal.

City and County of San Francisco

Municipal government

Declared local emergency ahead of anticipated storms

San Francisco declared a local emergency in anticipation of heavy rain and flooding from the coming El Niño.

Timeline

2 events Latest: Yesterday

October 2026
Embarcadero floods as tides peak 2.1 feet above normal
Latest Flooding event

Seawater closed parts of the Embarcadero as tides peaked 2.1 feet above normal. The NWS issued a coastal flood advisory for low-lying Bay Area regions, warning of more flooding along bayshore Marin County.
Yesterday
San Francisco declares local emergency
Government action

City officials declared a local emergency in anticipation of heavy rain and flooding from the coming El Niño.
October 2026

Scenarios

Historic El Niño floods Bay Area waterfronts through spring

Likely Resolves by Apr 30, 2027

Discussed by: National Weather Service and city and port officials cited by KQED

Forecasters expect the coming El Niño to be historic, with torrential downpours, elevated sea levels, severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes. If that verifies, the Embarcadero and bayshore Marin County see repeated closures, and flood damage could run into the hundreds of millions, as it did in 1997-98.

El Niño weakens; Bay Area escapes major flooding

Unlikely Resolves by Apr 30, 2027

Discussed by: Forecast uncertainty noted in NWS daily discussions

El Niño forecasts can shift. If the event weakens or tracks elsewhere, the region deals with a few high-tide days but no repeated emergency flooding, and the Oct. 27 closures stand as the season's worst.

Port installs permanent flood barriers on the Embarcadero

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: City officials describing the port's prepared temporary barriers

Repeated flooding through winter could push the city to fund permanent seawall or barrier upgrades along the Embarcadero, turning the current seasonal response into long-term infrastructure work.

Historical Context

One moment from history that rhymes with this story — and how it unfolded.

February 1998

1997-98 El Niño flooding in the Bay Area

In the first week of February 1998, high winds and heavy rains combined with abnormally high tides across the San Francisco Bay region. Whitecaps up to 6 feet high splashed over the Embarcadero for the first time in recent memory, U.S. Highway 101 north of the Golden Gate Bridge flooded under 4 feet of water, and hundreds of people fled low-lying homes. At Fort Point, an early-morning tide measured 5 feet above mean sea level, about 2 feet higher than gravitational forces alone would produce.

Then

The storms caused hundreds of millions of dollars in flood and storm damage across the Bay Area in that winter season.

Now

U.S. Geological Survey analysis of the Fort Point sea-level record traced the record highs to the 1997-98 El Niño, establishing the mechanism scientists now use to forecast such events.

Why this matters now

The same El Niño mechanism that drove the 1998 flooding is now forecast again, and the Embarcadero is flooding once more — but this time the port has an established response playbook in place.