Friday’s high tide, which flooded streets in Beaufort, was ‘perfect coincidence’
A perfect storm of factors resulted in a remarkably high tide Friday — even for the fall season when “king tides” are expected.
As a result, the Beaufort River was bursting at its banks.
At 2:45 p.m., Beaufort police alerted the public that Charles Street and Scott Street extensions at Waterfront Park were closed because of high water.
Water also overtook Pigeon Point Boat Landing 1.7 miles north of the park.
King tides, as they are commonly known, occur during full moons and result from the moon’s position around the earth. They produce particularly high tides, and the highest come in the fall, said Blair Holloway, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston.
Following a full moon on Tuesday, the area experienced the second highest tide of the year. The tide rose to 10.35 feet at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the Savannah River near Tybee Island in Georgia, the closest tidal gauge to Beaufort.
“That’s pretty significant,” Holloway said.
Minor flooding can occur at 9.5 feet.
Another factor drove the tide: The weather.
Because of how South Carolina’s coastline is oriented, water rises with northeast winds. Offshore winds Friday were screaming at gale force, which is 35 knots.
Another weather-related factor was a developing low pressure system, which also causes higher tides, off the coast of Florida.
Holloway called the collision of astronomical tides and the weather a “perfect coincidence.”
The serendipity produced the eighth highest tide on record at Fort Pulaski since recordkeeping began in 1935, Holloway said. Excluding tropical storms like hurricanes, the 10.35-foot high tide was third highest tide on record. The high tide at that location during Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic hurricane during the 2016 season, was 12.56 feet when it impacted the Beaufort area Oct. 8.
The highest tide of the year will not arrive until November.
