King Tides and Storm Surge along the Straits

Yesterday the National Weather Service put out an alert for coastal flooding caused by high tides and storm surge. I went down the Olympic Discovery Trail to take a look. Waves were crashing on the rip-rap and spraying onto the trail. The tide had pushed up into the creeks. At 4 Seasons Ranch water was piling up in low spots.

King Tides are exceptionally high tides, usually occurring around the full moon. Dec 15-17 will be this month's King tides dates, with high tides of 9 feet at Dungeness.
Global warming can make King tides higher in several ways:
- sea level rise when warmer oceans expand
- more sea level rise from melting continental glaciers
- higher storm surge from more intense storms
Here's a website with a calendar of King Tides:

More information on King Tides at:
https://wsg.washington.edu/community-outreach/hazard-resilience-and-climate-adaptation/king-tides/program/
and

High tide pushes water up Morse Creek at Four Seasons Ranch


High tide pushes water up Lees Creek at the Olympic Discovery Trail

Videos:
  • https://www.facebook.com/reel/567596499418712
  • https://fb.watch/wubYQtr0g1/ 

Location: Port Angeles, WA, USA

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