A series of warm-water pulses called Kelvin waves is raising sea levels by 6 to 12 inches along the US West Coast, moving north from California to Oregon and Washington at about 150 miles a day, and is expected to recur through February. The bulges of water, common during El Niño (a natural climate pattern of warming Pacific waters) and likely to be stronger in this year's super El Niño, will not flood areas alone but raise the baseline so that high tides and storm surges do more damage. California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, and officials in Orange County are adding emergency sand to eroding beaches as scientists warn of possible record erosion.