King tides return to Oregon Coast for 3-day stretch
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A month after the first round of seasonal king tides walloped the Oregon Coast, a second round of exceptionally high tides is forecasted for the Pacific Northwest.
The Oregon King Tides Project forecasts the next round of king tides to last from Dec. 13 to Dec. 15. A final round of seasonal king tides will happen in January 2025.
King tides occur when the sun and moon align, adding extra gravitational pull on the Earth. That extra gravitational pull causes the Earth’s oceans to swell and increase the height of our tides.
During a king tide, ocean tides can surpass their highest daily averages by six inches or more. These tides can cause coastal flooding and hazardous beach conditions. When combined with storms or sneaker waves, king tides can be especially deadly.
“In the Northwest, water temperatures are frigid, and victims caught in sneakers can lose control of their limbs in a matter of seconds,” the National Weather Service warns. “The volume of sand, water, and gravel they carry and will deposit in an individual's clothes. Survivors have described the water-sand mix in their clothes as feeling as heavy as concrete, rendering them incapable of escaping the receding waves pulling them into the ocean.”
KOIN 6 has compiled a list of safe places to view the king tides in Oregon and Washington.