Orcas spotted off Newport Beach as El Nino, Hurricane Polo continue to push rare wildlife to SoCal

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. () — Hurricane Polo and El Niño are combining forces off the coast, bringing unusual and rarely seen sea life into the waters of Southern California.

On Monday, a group on a whale watch tour spotted a pod of orcas off of Newport Beach. Experts say they are Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas, which are normally found in the warmer waters off Mexico.

El Niño conditions and a series of storms churning in the Pacific, including Hurricane Polo several hundred miles south, are bring big waves and high tides but it’s also bringing even more wildlife to Southern California’s water.