Savannah area faces risk of flooding, erosion starting Wednesday
Even as dry conditions continue, gale force winds and “dangerous seas” will lead to likely flooding and possible beach erosion by Thursday along the northern Georgia and southern South Carolina coasts, forecasters warned Tuesday.
Strong high pressure to the north will fuel strengthening northeast winds as low pressure builds over the region through the end of the week, with a coastal storm possible over the weekend, according to the Charleston office of the National Weather Service.
“While the strength, timing and track of this coastal low are still uncertain, some degree of impacts caused by the strong high to the north will begin to affect the area as early as Wednesday and Thursday, which could linger into the weekend depending on where the coastal low tracks,” the weather service said in a bulletin Tuesday afternoon.
Flooding is most likely during morning high tides through Thursday and may linger into the weekend.
“Coastal Flood Advisories will likely be needed,” NWS advised.
Through Thursday, strong winds could push waves as high as 8 feet within 20 nautical miles of shore and 12 feet beyond that point, with even higher seas possible over the weekend.
High tide at Fort Pulaski is expected to reach 9.7 feet at 9 a.m. Thursday and 9.5 feet at 10 a.m. Friday – just below the moderate flood level of 10 feet. Tides of 10.5 feet or higher at the Fort Pulaski gauge result in major flooding.
The average Fort Pulaski high tide is 7.5 feet, with an all-time high of 12.45 feet on Oct. 8, 2016, when Hurricane Matthew hit the Georgia coast.
Highs temperatures of around 60 degrees are expected through Friday with sunshine each day.
Rain is forecast to move into the area Saturday night and linger into Sunday night.
John Deem covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at jdeem@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah, Georgia coast face risk of flooding, erosion with high winds
