From San Diego to Seattle, people are building sandbag barriers along the coast for fear of the “king of the tides” flooding the west coast.
The phenomenon is predicted to raise water levels by more than six feet in low-lying areas of California and three feet in parts of Oregon during the pre-noon peak.
While these events are typical of winter, this follows the recent rainstorms that have hit the west and will occur when a new moon hangs in the sky – and it will be as close to earth as it has been in more than 1,000 years.
Ellen Plane, an environmental scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute, told Bay Nature that due to sea level rise in recent years, “these royal tides will be our average daily high tides.”
An unusually high tide will hit west coast states this weekend, bringing tides up to 30 meters in some parts. California (pictured) has been battered by storms in recent weeks
Meteorologist Kelley Bayern shared a stark warning on Twitter on Friday: “Royal tides are hitting the Oregon coast today and this weekend. Expect significantly higher tides [and] sneaker waves. Please be extra careful on the sand.”
Sneaker waves are common in Northern California and Oregon.
They are significantly larger than previous waves and can occur without warning.
However, royal tides are predictable before bringing a flow of water from the marina to the surrounding towns.
Matt Zaffino, chief meteorologist at KGW TV in Portland, Oregon, shared in a tweet, “Extreme ebb and flow this weekend thanks to the new moon. Fortunately, the swell off the Oregon and Washington coasts will not be extreme.
King Tide is not a scientific name but a catchy Australian term to describe the highest tides of the year.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for the peninsula’s coast on Thursday due to the expected high tide.
And the recommendation, which is in effect until Monday afternoon.
King Tides devastated Seattle in December, forcing dozens of families to evacuate their homes in a South Park neighborhood.
Homeowners reported up to four feet of water flowing through their backyards after the event went away.
Nicholas Michiels, a South Park resident, told KIRO 7: “Our childhood pictures and things we had to pull apart, put on paper towels and try to photograph them.
“We definitely got burned, but we’re working really hard not to keep our hands in the coals.”
Oregon is the path of the king of the tides, and meteorologists are warning residents to prepare
The tide will reach more than 10 feet in Oregon on Saturday afternoon but drop dramatically a few hours later
Along with the high tides, the royal tides also bring low tides that expose beaches and other places that are normally submerged.
One such location is the Ashby Shoal, a sandbar less than a mile from the shore of Emeryville Marina on San Francisco Bay.
On Thursday night, the sand bar emerged from the water due to -1.31 foot tides, and beachgoers took full advantage of that.
The phenomenon is predicted to raise water levels by more than six feet in low-lying areas of California that experienced flooding earlier this month. But this weekend there will be a new moon that will boost the tides even more
Fearing that the “king of the tides” could flood the west coast, people are building barriers of sandbags along the coast.
SFGate reported seeing dozens of people pulling their boats onto Ashby Shoal to watch the sunset on the bay.
California is feeling the brunt of Mother Nature with devastating storms in recent weeks bringing 200 to 600 percent more rain than usual.
The series of atmospheric flows that have struck the state have caused an estimated $1 billion in damage, dumped an estimated 24 trillion gallons of water on the state since December and killed 19 people.