Venomous Sea Snakes Have Started Washing Up In California

The El Niño–fueled weather pattern has already proven to be destructive in California.

For example, torrential rains in Southern California this week sent rivers of mud down barren mountainsides, trapping vehicles and washing out roadways.

But on Friday, a new El Niño threat was identified. Something sinister. Something that can get you in the water...and on land.

The sea snake, a descendant of Asian cobras and Australian tiger snakes, has some of the most poisonous venom in the world and can remain underwater for up to 90 minutes.

And for the first time in three decades, it has been spotted as far north as Oxnard, California.

Also known as the pelagic sea snake, the species typically sticks to warmer, tropical waters, which California isn't known for.

But the onset of El Niño has ripped apart that natural protection, and now these venomous snakes are starting to appear along the southern coast, prompting the nonprofit Heal the Bay to issue a warning on Friday.

The group urged anyone who spots the snake in public not to handle it and instead to take photos, note its exact location, and report the sighting to iNaturalist and HerpMapper.