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Coastal Flooding and King Tides, What’s Going On?

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Posted on Friday, September 30, 2016

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Coastal Flooding and King Tides, What’s Going On?

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Coastal Flooding and King Tides - Click to enlarge image.

​During the week of October 17, South Florida once again saw the impact of King Tides, the highest tides of the year. The tides rise and fall daily, but each full and new moon bring tides rising higher than usual. They rise even higher a few times each year with the lunar perigee, when the moon is closest to the earth and exerts a stronger gravitational pull. In southeast Florida they normally occur in the fall due to the seasonally warmer ocean temperatures. These King Tides are worsened by long-term sea level rise and short-term weather conditions (such as persistent winds) and are causing flooding along our coasts more often and for longer periods of time.

Is King Tide flooding getting worse? Tides have been doing this since there was an ocean for the moon to move, but the ocean is now taking up more space, courtesy of the changing climate, and the tides have nowhere else to go but over seawalls and up through storm drains into our streets and communities.

A few points to ponder:

 
What Can You Do?
Be safe during fl​​oo​ding events:

  • Do not put yourself and others at risk of injury by walking or driving through flood water – six inches of fast flowing water can knock you off your feet and less than a meter of water can float a car.
  • Avoid coming into direct contact with flood water as it may be contaminated with sewage and other pollutants. Do not allow children to play in or near flood water. If you come into contact with floodwater, immediately wash exposed areas of your skin.
  • Flooding can result in hazards below the surface you cannot see that could cause injury, e.g. nails, broken glass, debris and displaced manhole covers.
  • Flood waters can be a threat to your life as well as cause short and long term damage to your vehicle. Do not drive through flooded areas, turn around and find another way.
  • If you drive through a tidal flood, wash the undercarriage of your car to remove the saltwater. You can go through a car wash equipped with an undercarriage sprayer.
  • Landscaping inundated during coastal flooding events should be rinsed off. If your landscape encounters salt water flooding, make sure the area is rinsed off and/or rained on thoroughly before adding fertilizer or pesticides.
  • If you are a boater, check the tides before leaving the dock. High tides cause lower clearances under fixed bridges.

 
Did You See Local Flooding? Did You Take a Picture?
Send us your photos! 

Photos submitted must be high resolution images, preferably at 300 dpi (4" by 5" size) or higher. They must also be original non-copyrighted work, unmodified (digitally or otherwise), taken in Palm Beach County, FL and be supplied as JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, or EPS files. The submitter must grant, and have the authority to grant, Palm Beach County unlimited, unrestricted use of the photo. Submissions must include:

  • photographer's name;
  • photo title (if any);
  • photo location, date and time; and
  • a brief description

Send your submission to: ResilientPBC@pbcgov.org

View Apps and Information on Flooding and King Tide events:


 

Tide predictions and real time tidal data can be found at:


 

Tide stations used for South Florida predictions include: Lake Worth Pier, Virginia Key, Vaca Key and Key West.

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