The King Tide: How the Tides can Impact Your Coastlines

Most people who aren't mariners or active beach goers often don't check up on their local high and low tide cycles. But what happens when your favorite dockside restaurant has ankle deep water in the parking lot? That's what we call the King Tide, a phenomenon that occurs once or twice a year along the U.S. coastlines.

Caused by what's called a "perigee", that highlights a very close distance between the Earth and the moon. It occurs on a monthly basis. Being that the moon drives the tidal cycles on Earth, it's close proximity elevates the high and low tides, making coastal flooding that much more possible. A "supermoon" is a byproduct of the perigee, occurring three to four times a year. However, the two tend to not overlap for most of Earth's orbit around the sun.

We're also slowly trending towards "perihelion", the point in Earth's orbit where it's the closest to the Sun, this in turn will also enhance our tidal cycles. The combination of these three factors is what will bring us the "King Tide".

The combination of these three factors are what influences the "King Tide". During this time, the perigee and full or supermoon can overlap, giving us elevated tidal risks and coastal flooding throughout the months of October, November and December.

Make sure to stay tuned into WeatherNation, to see if these tidal patterns will impact your neighborhood!