SACRAMENTO, California: Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide California El Niño emergency Monday, mobilising agencies and emergency resources ahead of a potentially historic 2026-27 storm season.
The September 21 proclamation directs state agencies to reduce flood risks and pre-position sandbags, pumps and other emergency equipment. Caltrans will prepare road-closure, traffic-control and snow-removal equipment on vulnerable highways.
The California National Guard was also placed on readiness to assist with flood response, search and rescue, engineering and logistics if severe weather requires additional state support.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said on September 10 that El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter of 2026-27.
NOAA puts the probability of an historically strong event at 75% for October-December, meaning it could exceed the strength of El Niño episodes in records dating to 1950. The agency stressed that stronger El Niño conditions increase the likelihood of typical impacts but do not guarantee specific storms or rainfall totals in California.
Read: 2026 El Niño Hits Shipping as Forecasts Point to Extreme Event
Newsom’s office said preparations include measures for flooding, landslides, debris flows and coastal damage. The proclamation comes after several Southern California communities, including Laguna Beach, Dana Point and Carlsbad, declared local emergencies following coastal erosion and damaging surf earlier in September.
Those coastal emergencies followed storm-driven swells, including impacts from Hurricane Marie, and were not themselves caused by the developing El Niño.
