King tide threatens coastal flooding tonight
BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Cole Nordquist of Waikiki Shore Beach Service collects lounge chairs in front of Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Hotel Thursday as the rising king tide waters washed up to the chairs in the mid afternoon. Coastal flooding is again possible this evening as the king tide episode ends.
KAT WADE / Special to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Cars and trucks ignore the flooded intersection of Kilihau and Ahua streets at high tide on Friday evening, during the peak of this weekend’s king tide. Coastal flooding is again possible this evening as the king tide episode ends.
The ebbing “king tide” phenomenon is expected to bring one more episode of higher-than-normal water levels this evening, forecasters say.
The National Weather Service said this morning that high tide, which peaks at 7:40 p.m. on Oahu, will be 2.1 feet, which is higher than normal but below the king tide peak Friday. Forecasters warn that coastal flooding is expected in some areas.
“Beaches that normally remain dry along southern shores could flood due to a combination of wave run-up from the surf and high water levels. Ocean water could also inundate the typical vulnerable low-lying roads, docks, boat ramps and other coastal infrastructure,” they said.
The impact may be lessened as a weekend south swell dissipates, and forecasters said tides and water levels will return to normal beginning Tuesday.
King tides are a convergence of rising sea levels and high tides that lead to coastal flooding.
The weather service says Hawaii can expect more “record-breaking tides and coastal flooding” between June 21-27, and scientists predict a third episode July 21-23.
