On Aug. 13, the National Weather Service announced there was a better than 90% chance of a strong weather event in the northern hemisphere in fall and winter 2026-27.
Seal Beach officials are watching the weather.
Associate Engineer David Spitz told the Citizen-Council Stormwater Advisory Ad Hoc Committee on Wednesday, Aug. 12, that the city now has five portable water pumps. That number was confirmed by Stormwater Committee members Schelly Sustarsic, of College Park East, and District Four Councilwoman Patty Senecal in recent messages.
Sustarsic said her takeaway from the meeting is that the city is actively preparing for the possibility of significant rainfall this winter. “Due to significantly warmer ocean temperatures, a “Super” El Nino is possible, although what we can expect from that is still uncertain,” Sustarsic wrote in an Aug. 17 text.
“Our city departments from Police / Emergency Services, Marine Safety, Public Works and City Manager’s office are actively monitoring the developments of the 2026 El Nino in the Pacific Ocean,” Senecal wrote in an Aug. 16 email.
“They are checking equipment, coordinating, reviewing emergency response plans and watching the forecast closely. The predictions are for above average rainfall, high surf and flooding. Our team is working to protect public safety and strengthen our community’s resilience during severe weather events, especially in the area that are prone to flooding. The city recently purchased two additional pumps, for a total of five. At the Citizen Council Stormwater Advisory AD HOC Committee it was reassuring that our city is planning early to reduce risks to residents and business,” Senecal wrote.
The following are highlights of comments from the media.
Seal Beach Police Sgt. Brian Gray, the city’s Emergency Services coordinator, has been watching El Nino for several months. “The forecast is significant enough that we should prepare, but its not so precise that it can predict specific impacts,” Gray said during the meeting.
Gray showed the committee a slide. According to Gray, the slide showed an 81% chance El Nino would be strong and a 97% chance that it goes into spring.
“We’re talking early fall, like late summer to early fall,” Gray said.
“The chances are above normal rainfall for parts of Southern California,” Gray said.
“You guys remember a lot of the flooding that we had,” Gray said.
“It was because we had back-to—back atmospheric rivers, which are those thin, moist bands of air that come across and happen to land or go over Seal Beach,” Gray said.
“The likelihood is more likely than not that we’re going to see more of that,” Gray said.
Gray also said the media was “going crazy” over a possible Super El Nino.
According to Associate Engineer Spitz, in the event of a storm, staff would be assigned to specific locations to deploy equipment. “This is before the storm even hits, so we want everything pre-staged, ready to go. The staff makes sure its pumps are fully fueled, functioning prior to the next shift that goes out there,” Spitz said.
“Check over all the vehicles because nothing’s worse than getting a flat tire,” Spitz said.
He also addressed flooding issues.
“We have a periodic catch basin cleaning program, but if we know a storm’s coming out, we’ll also go check all the catch basins before that,” Spitz said.