September 29, 2026 — With warmer ocean waters and an anticipated El Niño weather event quickly approaching, local scientists are expecting some unusual guests off the Southern California coast — including hammerhead sharks, devil rays and whale sharks near La Jolla.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting that the 2026-2027 El Niño weather pattern could be among the strongest on record, bringing warmer-than-average ocean temperatures and wetter, more intense winters to California.
In preparation, scientists at the La Jolla-based Scripps Institution of Oceanography launched its El Niño Resource Hub in late August to outline the ways in which El Niño could impact ocean life. The streamlined website tackles frequently asked questions from local scientists’ perspectives, drawing upon data from previous El Niño events and others like it.
“We’re at the edge of a very strong El Niño that’s bringing pretty warm water to the Southern California area, and with that we’re seeing species that are popping up that we don’t typically see in this area,” Jack Elstner, a Ph.D. candidate for biological oceanography at Scripps, told the La Jolla Light.