El Nino and high tide floding, a possible double whammy for some coastal communities in 2026

Sea Level Rise Is the First Punch in a Coastal "Double Whammy"

Insights

​

• NOAA's outlook map lets users view flooding projections to plan ahead.
   

• The second punch is a strong El Niño itself, layering on more frequent, deeper flooding.
   

• Together, the two forces can push flood days well beyond a typical year's totals.

There's a difference between a single hard hit and two hits landing back-to-back. The first one alone might be manageable. It's the second one, arriving before anyone has recovered from the first, that tends to do the real damage — and that's the situation many coastal communities are now facing.
 

Understanding that combination matters for anyone trying to plan ahead, whether that planning happens at the household level or across an entire coastal region. Seeing both forces clearly, rather than just one at a time, is what makes it possible to prepare for what's coming rather than simply react to it.