Another band of high tides is slated to batter Southern California’s coast and while the advisories associated with the tides will expire Thursday, there may still be more high surf that could affect coastal communities this weekend.
A high tide in Newport Beach reached a record-setting 8.4 feet Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. In San Pedro, a tide gauge reached a record 8.02 feet Monday, breaking the previous record of 7.93 feet set Jan. 10, 2005. Records at the gauge date to November 1923.
High morning tides of 7.5 to 8 feet are expected through Thursday, running roughly 1 to 1.5 feet above astronomical predictions along Los Angeles County’s coast and 1 to 1.7 feet above predictions in Orange County.
“We are going to see another round of high tides in the morning so that’s when we’ve seen the most issues,” NBC4 Meteorologist Shanna Mendiola said. “Every single morning the water level rises and we’ve been seeing flooding and possible coastal erosion every single time it’s happened.”
Long Beach was bracing for another coastal assault of record-high morning tides that have pummeled homes and flooded streets.
Long Beach was focused on recovery and rebuilding its boardwalk and community in the wake of the powerful surfs triggered by Hurricane Marie remnants, Tropical Storm Rachel and treacherous ongoing El Niño conditions.
The community must now confront the possibility that the peak tides in the forecast could further damage a row of already-devastated homes where eight structures comprising 13 residences had been red-tagged and another structure was yellow-tagged and the area where the city’s historic boardwalk was severely damaged.
“The rise in the elevation of the water, again, needing somewhere to go, goes on shore and pushes into those in the community,” Mendiola said.
Flooding also reached the boardwalk at the Redondo Beach pier.
A coastal flood warning remains in effect through 1 p.m. Thursday for the Orange County coastline. A coastal flood advisory covering the Los Angeles County coastline also remains in effect through 1 p.m. Thursday. The NWS said morning high tides may continue near record levels Wednesday.
Although the advisories will expire Thursday, another system taking aim for the Southland may cause more high surf this weekend.
“Slowly improving as we get to Friday and Saturday with those advisories and warnings expiring, but we could still see above-average tides because we have another system on the way and that’s going to bring rain from the sky,” Mendiola said.
With the high tides not over yet, the city of Huntington Beach issued a notice to residents on Wednesday about safety when it comes to flooding and electric vehicles.
“Floodwater, especially saltwater, can damage electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion batteries, creating a fire hazard that may not appear immediately,” the city warned. “Damaged batteries can overheat, release toxic gases, ignite, or explode hours, days, weeks, or months after a storm.”
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