MENDOCINO Co., 1/10/23 — This week marks the return of the perigean spring tides, or what’s called the “king tides,” which are a natural event of very high tides that occurs several times annually due to gravitational pull on the tides during a high tide and a full or new moon. These high tides will be happening on January 11 and 12, and then again on February 9, 2024, and high winds could result in even higher tides — and you can help document them for the California King Tides Project.
Right now, the forecast is for high water levels and high surf through the week, with the king tides on Thursday and Friday. The extent of the high tides and potential impact will vary depending on local topography and weather: there is a National Weather Service warning for potential flooding in Humboldt Bay, and other low-lying coastal areas, but there are no similar warnings for Mendocino County. You can look up specific tide predictions for different coastal locations here.
In order to document the tides and capture what future sea level rises could look like due to climate change, the California Coastal Commission’s California King Tides project has been collecting photos from the public during the king tides, as well as organizing events and other resources to share information about king tides and rising sea levels. You can check out photographs from up and down the coast from previous years here, and submit your own as well, or email them to kingtides@coastal.ca.gov. More information is available at the project’s website.
See our previous coverage of the king tides here.