King tides hit Seattle, Western Washington; flood advisory along coast
King tides, the highest tides of the year, will come to Puget Sound this week.
King tides occur when the Earth, moon and sun align and gravity causes unusually high tides. The high tide in Seattle was expected to be around 12.47 feet around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The high tide in Seattle is expected to reach 12.5 feet around 7:30 a.m. Saturday and 12.3 feet around 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Olympia area could see tides as high as about 16 feet this weekend.
More significant impacts are expected along the Pacific Coast, where the addition of high surf will bring water after the peak tide. The coastal area is seeing king tides between Wednesday and Friday.
A coastal flood advisory remains in effect for the immediate coast, including Westport in Grays Harbor County. This could lead to flooding of parking lots, parks and roads, but only isolated road closures are expected. Strong surf can knock people off their feet, move driftwood and debris and cause localized beach and coastal erosion, according to the National Weather Service.
King tides preview how sea level rise will affect coastal places,” according to a 2011 handout from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “As time goes by, the water level reached now during a king tide will be the water level reached at high tide on an average day.
NOAA predicts this week’s king tides might not be the highest of the season: Higher tides are predicted during the first week of January, expected to reach around 13 feet.
Western Washington’s king tides – the peak of a given tidal cycle – are strongest in November, December, January and February. King tides in December 2022 brought the worst flooding South Park had seen in years, leaving at least 13 homes flooded.
A state-led project encourages people to upload photos of king tides or other high-water events at mycoast.org/wa. The documentation helps scientists, local planners and others understand how sea-level rise and storm surges affect local infrastructure and ecosystems.
State of Washington Tourism recommends a few sites for spotting king tides, including Cape Disappointment State Park, Westport, Tokeland, Ocean Shores and Kalaloch and Ruby Beach in the Olympic National Park.
Seattle Public Utilities on Wednesday received about 200 calls regarding sewer overflows and backups. For urgent flooding, sewer backups or sewer overflows or high tide inundations, Seattle residents should call SPU’s 24/7 operations center at 206-386-1800.
Materials from The Seattle Times archives were used in this report.