OK, I have to be careful with posts like this, especially since I identified myself in the thread above. You should defer to official tsunami warnings. I found the Pacific Tsunami warning system links unclear and find the warnings easier to use by clicking on the map at the National Weather Service (link).

Clicking on the tsunami warning, there has already been a tsunami measured as large as 0.7 m in Hawaii. This could be a substantial underestimate of what the largest wave at the worst location might be. Also, this is likely the first wave and later waves can be (but need not be) larger. For example, on the link the largest measured wave in Japan is now 3.3 m, but television shows tsunamis that must be much larger, running inland.

I think (opinion!) that the tsunami will be worse for California than was the case for the M8.8 Chile quake a year ago by simple logic: The Japan quake was on a subduction zone that faces California more directly: Chile tsunami would arrive more obliquely (although is not a straight line thing: tsunamis are shallow water waves in any ocean depth and refract everywhere).

But, the energy does spread out with distance and you will NOT see tsunamis in California that compare to the worst areas of Japan.

I am NOT a tsunami expert; I do not model tsunamis. I am a research geologist.

Chris

• NWS map warnings