California’s coastline has already taken a beating in 2026. Now, the highest tides of the year are coming — and they’ll arrive as El Niño continues to hammer the coast. King Tides aren’t storms. They’re the year’s highest predictable high tides, produced when the gravitational pull of the sun, moon and Earth lines up, especially when the moon is closest to Earth. The California Coastal Commission notes they can run roughly one to two feet above ordinary high tides; when they overlap with swell, storm surge or flooding, the impacts can become much more severe. Video from Cannon Beach, Oregon , shows what that combination can look like: waves charging far higher up the beach than normal, swallowing shoreline and turning familiar coastal terrain into moving water. Past King Tides there have prompted officials to warn beachgoers about sneaker waves surging much farther inland than expected. View this post on Instagram When Are California’s King Tides Coming?…