King tides bring more street flooding to parts of South Florida

Wells Dusenbury, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·2 min read
1

Some parts of South Florida dealt with flooded roadways Monday with king tide season well underway. And the buildup of flood waters is likely to keep happening on and off during the next two months.

Stretches of road in Fort Lauderdale by Oakland Park Boulevard saw flooding, with water pouring onto the street from the Intracoastal Waterway. Fort Lauderdale saw a projected high tide of about 3.53 feet on Monday morning, the highest figure this month, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Fort Lauderdale is predicted to see similar levels that will decrease over the next few days with 3.49 feet on Tuesday morning, 3.39 feet on Wednesday morning and 3.25 feet on Thursday morning.

That’s several inches higher than the full-moon tides of summer, which register around 3 feet, and more than a foot taller than smaller high tides of summer, which clock in closer to 2 feet. In winter, high tides might be as weak as 1.77 feet.

There also were reports of flooding in Miami on Sunday with water pouring over the seawall by the river, said Robert Garcia, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami. Garcia added that areas by the water with docks and boat ramps are usually more susceptible to flooding from king tides, but noted the flooding can also make its way farther inland.

“If you’re near the water, by one of the canals, rivers or creeks anywhere up the coast, the water can’t get out from that into the Atlantic [Ocean] as easily when you have those high tides — and so some of those back up,” Garcia said.

“Some of the urbanized flooding we get sometimes from king tides is more related to the lack of drainage when you have showers and the lakes and creeks are backing up.”

King tides happen when the full moon or new moon tides, which are stronger than other tides, coincide with the moon swinging close to the Earth on its elliptical orbit. The alignment and proximity create greater gravitational pull on the ocean, thus larger tides.

The season lasts on-and-off from September through November.

South Florida experienced a spate of flash flooding in late September due to the effects of Hurricane Ian, with up to 8 inches of rain in some spots.

Garcia said the water levels this season have been mostly typical, but noted that the east coast hasn’t dealt with any systems in the Atlantic Ocean, which can exacerbate the flooding from king tides.

King tides will recur twice a month on the following dates:

  • Tuesday through Wednesday.

  • Oct. 24 through Oct. 30.

  • Nov. 6 through Nov. 9.

  • Nov. 23 through Nov. 27.

  • Dec. 23 through Dec. 24.

Sun Sentinel staff writer Bill Kearney contributed to this news article.