King Tides, highest of the season, roll over San Francisco's Embarcadero
SAN FRANCISCO - This weekend's storm that swept through the Bay Area was combined with King Tides, which contributed to flooding in many areas.
King Tides, which are exceptionally high tides, splashed onto the Embarcadero at Pier 5 at just over 7 feet.
Scientists say they are a reminder of climate change and an indicator of the future.
"When we have these higher than normal tides like today, we can see what kind of infrastructure and what communities are affected and so that scientists and planners can get an idea of where we need to adapt and build more resilience in our communities first," said Staff Educator at The Exploratium Lori Lambertson.
Lambertson led a discussion in partnership with the Port of San Francisco Sunday. The public was invited to document the astronomical event that occurs when the sun, moon and earth are in the right alignment.
"This will really be the highest tides of the season, for this King Tide season, which always happens in the winter," she said.
"We do have sea level rise, so every year, they're going to be a little higher than the year before."
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A powerful winter storm battered the Bay Area Friday night into Saturday, causing widespread issues, power outages and downed trees and flooding. Off-and-on rain and strong, gusty winds continued to hammer the region as the storm moves east.
On Saturday, the storm and King Tides flooded part of the Bay Bridge approaching the metering lights.
Though both can cause flooding, experts said the occurrence was coincidental.
"I thought it was very nice and cool to see the King Tides today," said Rowan Biddle.
"I was also really impressed that San Francisco passed a bond back in 2018. I'm sure I voted for it, now that the election cycle is back, to help support planning going forward as well. So it's exciting to me to be living in a city that's thinking proactively about the type of work that needs to be done," said Rowan's mother, Allegra Fisher.
The Port of San Francisco said it is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a plan to adapt the city's shoreline to higher water levels.
"Not a small job, it's a job that's going to take decades to implement, so we're in the planning and design phase of the work, and we're looking at what are the early actions that we can take to address the most flood-prone areas," said Brad Benson, Waterfront Resilience Program Director with the Port of San Francisco.
Approvals at the federal level could happen in 2026 and construction could start before the end of this decade.
The next King Tides event in San Francisco is expected in mid-January.