A Kelvin wave raised sea levels on the West Coast. More are coming

A large underwater wave moved up the West Coast, raising sea levels. Scientists say it's driven by El Niño and it's going to happen again.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/788x929+0+0/resize/788x929!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F65%2F06%2F0998242247b9b80893e4d8583d33%2Fctw-animation-ccs-realtime.gif' alt='Coastally trapped Kelvin waves moving along the West Coast. The dark red represents higher than normal sea levels.'/><p>A large underwater wave moved up the West Coast, raising sea levels. Scientists say it's driven by El Niño and it's going to happen again.</p><p>(Image credit: Dillon J. Amaya)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6001744' />