Get ready for some big tides starting this week.
“King Tides” – when normal high tides are higher than usual – occur once a month during the winter and summer. And the first of the winter King Tides is Monday, Nov. 25 through Wednesday, Nov. 27 on the Oregon coast.
High tides through Wednesday are about a foot higher than normal – 9.24 feet at 10:52 a.m. Monday; 9.26 feet at 12:12 p.m. Tuesday; and 9.26 feet again at 12:53 p.m. Wednesday. Low tides all three days ranges from a minus 1.01 feet to minus 1.38 feet.
Dates for other King Tides this winter are Dec. 24-26, Jan. 10-12, and Feb. 8-10.
The highest of the high tides occur at a few specific times during the year when the moon is closest to the earth.
There is even a group called the Oregon King Tides Photo Project that enlists volunteers to photograph specific areas of the coast over time to help document sea level rise and erosion. It has been operating for 10 years.
