High Tides Produce Flooding Around Coast, NWS Predicts Minor Tidal Conditions Friday
SEAL BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Seal Beach residents woke up on Thanksgiving to find parking lots and alleys underwater, while the calm Pacific Ocean lapped below pricey beachfront houses in Malibu, as the normal highest tides of the lunar cycle were even higher than normal.
Long Beach's popular Venice canals had water overflowing footbridges, though no damage was reported.
The executive director of the California Coastal Commission warned last week that high tides should alert Californians as to where global warming will take seawater as a matter of course soon.
"The extremes of today will become the normal of tomorrow," Coastal Commission's Charles Lester said.
High tides have topped out recently as much as one foot higher than usual along the Santa Monica Bay, National Weather Service forecasters say. That turned a high tide forecast 7.0 feet above normal sea level into an 8.0 tide.
The surf on Thursday, meanwhile, was nearly non-existent, as swells were minimal and winds were calm.
For the fourth day, NWS forecasts the possibility of minor tidal conditions on Friday.
The Beach Hazards Statement says parking lots could flood, and strong, unusual currents could form along the coast, and the sand erosion observed on some beaches could continue.
Friday's high tide was predicted to crest at 7.5 feet at Santa Monica, at 9:20 a.m.