B.C. is preparing for the arrival of especially high and potentially damaging waves -- known as "king tides" – as the month comes to a close.
Tides are driven by the combined effects of the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun, and king tides occur when the two celestial bodies align to create the strongest tidal effect.
The semi-annual event is typically more dramatic in the winter and has wreaked havoc in the province in the past. Last winter, several communities along B.C.'s southern coast were battered by the extreme tides.
Sandbagging and other preparations have already begun, as experts fear that effects of this year's king tides could be exacerbated by storm systems created by a powerful El Nino weather pattern.
"What we're preparing for is the possibility of king tides coinciding with severe weather," said Brian Crowe, director of Water, Sewers and District Energy for the City of Vancouver.
Crowe added that the effects of the storms combined with the king tides could cause water levels to rise “high enough to flood the area.”
But B.C. isn't the only region bracing for bad weather, as several cities in southern California have also kicked preparations into high gear.
"We can see the patterns along the equator with the ocean, we can expect an extremely wet season," said Bill Croyle, deputy director of California's emergency preparedness and security.
U.S. officials say last month's devastating mudslides near Los Angeles could be a preview of the kind of damage that can be doled out by a strong El Nino.
"This is larger and more intense, and it is still growing," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"When these great rains come there will be nothing to hold the water."
The king tides are expected to arrive along B.C.'s southern coast on the last weekend of November.
With a report from CTV's National Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy in Vancouver
