King Tides, Explained (No, It's Not the Rain)
With all the rain we've seen this past week, it's tempting to blame the weather for the water that crept into low-lying streets and tore into our beaches. But the real reason begins with last Sunday's full moon. Here's what to know about the king tides.
Every tide is the moon pulling on the ocean, with some help from the sun. Twice a month, at the full and new moon, the two pull in the same direction and the tides run higher than usual. When that lines up with the moon swinging near its closest point to Earth, you get the highest tides of the year, the ones we've come to call king tides.
The name comes from Australia and the South Pacific, where islanders in places like Tuvalu used it for the floods that push the ocean over their atolls. It reached the U.S. after Australians began photographing their highest tides in nearly 20 years in 2009.
Fall in Florida gives them an extra lift. The Atlantic off our coast is at its warmest, and warm water expands, while a slower autumn Gulf Stream lets water pile up along the shore. This week a nor'easter added strong onshore winds to the mix, and the National Weather Service kept a coastal flood warning on Indian River County from early Sunday into Friday.
The peak is behind us, though the surf stays rough through the weekend. More king tides are due Nov. 7–11 and again just before Thanksgiving.
A few tips for the next round:
Check the tide chart. Flooding tends to linger an hour or two on either side of high tide, so plan errands around it.
Don't drive through it. Salt water is hard on a car and hard to judge for depth.
Rinse if you did. A freshwater wash underneath helps keep salt from eating at your car.
Clear your storm drain. Keep leaves and clippings out of the drain in front of your house so the water has somewhere to go.
