SACRAMENTO - As the Super El Niño continues to strengthen, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide state of emergency Monday, ordering state agencies to stage flood equipment, ready the National Guard and speed up permits for flood protection work months before soaking El Niño rains could reach California.

Newsom said acting now will allow state agencies to move equipment into place, buy needed supplies sooner and clear regulatory hurdles for flood projects while there’s still time to finish them.

Under the emergency declaration, agencies and partners will be allowed and have the room to preposition sandbags, pumps and other equipment. Caltrans will stage traffic-control practices for flooding, road-closure and snow-removal equipment along the highways and corridors considered most at risk. The California National Guard will be ready to support flood response, search-and-rescue, engineering and logistics missions. Cal OES has also been directed to expand multilingual public messaging on flooding, evacuations, emergency alerts and power outages.

The order also tells state natural resources agencies to fast-track permitting for work that reduces flood and landslide risk. Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the state is “cutting red tape” to get that work done before the worst storms arrive.

El Niño breaks into record territory

El Niño is a periodic warming of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean along the equator that influences weather patterns around the globe. Over the past week, this Super El Niño has pushed into new territory, easily earning its title of “Super.”

Strong events tend to push a more active, energetic jet stream south toward California, bringing consistent and heavy rains. Very strong events and east-based events in particular - such as this current El Niño - have an increased inclination for prolonged statewide events. Seasonal climate models this year have already been pointing towards a wetter-than-normal winter across the state, including Northern California.

El Niño will not guarantee any particular storm or flood event. However, it does raise the odds of repeated rounds of heavy rain and mountain snow, and drastically lowers the odds of below-average precipitation from December through February.

Some of these effects have already arrived. The state points to recent coastal flooding being tied to El Niño, as Kelvin waves and warm ocean temperatures offshore are working to raise levels along the coast and warm-water-fueled hurricanes off Mexico have pushed large swells toward Southern California beaches. (Source: The Sacramento Bee)

Story Date: October 5, 2026