Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Oct 29: King tides have flooded streets, homes and businesses along both the US coasts, affecting beach communities in California, Florida and the Carolinas.
The tides began with the full moon earlier this week and could continue to cause flooding in some areas through the weekend, forecasters said. King tides occur due to the gravitational forces and alignment of the Earth, moon and sun. They can happen several times a year and last for several days.
This week's flooding has been intensified by additional weather and ocean conditions. In Florida, strong high pressure to the north and low pressure over the Caribbean have contributed to increased swells, said Chris Fisher, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Miami.
Along California's coast, the ongoing super El Niño has warmed ocean waters, increasing their volume. Kelvin waves, which are pulses of warm water that raise sea levels, have also contributed to the flooding, said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the weather service's Bay Area forecast office in Monterey.
The unusually high tides have brought seawater into residential and commercial areas, leaving residents facing conditions rarely experienced in recent years.
In Southern California, Stacey Frederick photographed and recorded people walking through knee-deep water and paddleboarding along the Pacific Coast Highway outside the coffee shop where she works. Rising tides pushed seawater onto the road, prompting officials to close a flooded section of the four-lane highway that runs from Orange County through California.
Frederick, 38, who has lived in Huntington Beach for five years, said flooding was not uncommon but had never reached this extent.
“It floods a little bit, but never to this point,” she said.
Record high tides were reported this week in Santa Barbara, San Pedro, San Diego and nearby La Jolla, according to the weather service.
In Sunset Beach, seawater overtopped three layers of sandbags that 75-year-old Lorraine Friedman had placed inside her garage and on the small patio outside her studio apartment. She has lived in the coastal community for nearly three decades, and her apartment had flooded only once before, about 20 years ago.
“This is the second day I’ve been flooded — two days — and tomorrow I’ll get flooded again,” she said on Wednesday.
Minor flooding was expected to continue through Saturday in low-lying areas along Northern California's shorelines and tidal waterways during peak high tides. Gass said coastal flooding generally occurred within an hour and a half before and after high tide, with levels peaking about 1.9 feet above normal in Northern California.
Most of Florida's Atlantic coast remained under flood warnings through early Friday. Street flooding was also reported in coastal cities in South Carolina, including Charleston and Myrtle Beach, while rip currents were possible as far north as North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Fisher warned that rough beach conditions were likely to persist through the weekend, citing a high risk of rip currents and elevated surf.
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, flooded streets made access to waterfront venues hosting what is billed as the world's largest in-water boat show difficult, with motorists navigating waterlogged roads near marinas, hotels and convention centres.
Virginia Key, a barrier island in Miami, recorded its highest king tide and the third-highest water level since records began around three decades ago, Fisher said. He added that the only higher levels had been recorded during hurricanes.