How California is bracing for a winter of floods, fires and extreme storms all at once

The strongest El Niño recorded is expected to bring a cascade of hazards to a state still facing wildfire and heat risks, while budget cuts have weakened disaster response agencies • Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Before this year, the US National Weather Service had never issued a September coastal flood advisory for the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the past month, it has had to issue two. As flood water swallowed intersections and eroded beaches up and down the California coast last week, scientists and emergency managers warned that this is just an early signal of a coming tumultuous winter as an already exceptional El Niño continues to strengthen. It’s been called everything from “super” to “Godzilla”, as forecasters hammer home the message that conditions brewing in the…