Jen Kalt, Humboldt Baykeeper Director
It’s that time of year again, when the highest tides of the year often coincide with storms to cause flooding and erosion in coastal areas. Known as King Tides, they tend to be about a foot higher than typical high tides, providing a glimpse into the future. With one foot of sea level rise, these high water levels will become more and more common.
The December 23 King Tide was even higher than predicted by about half a foot, peaking at 9.28’ at the North Spit tide gage. According to meteorologist Troy Nicolini at the National Weather Service in Eureka, this was due to storm surge and southerly winds pushing more water toward the coast, a phenomenon known as Ekman Transport.
The Humboldt Bay area is experiencing the fastest rate of sea level rise on the West Coast. That’s because plate tectonics are causing the ground beneath us to sink at the same rate as sea level is rising, doubling the relative rate of sea level rise.
To document King Tides, Baykeeper volunteers photograph high water levels relative to bridges, roads, seawalls, and other man-made structures. To add your photos to our collection, you can email them to KingTidePhotos@gmail.com. Or you can upload them to the Coastal Commission’s California King Tide Project at www.coastal.ca.gov/kingtides.