Old man stranded at sea during a King Tide. Photo: National Weather Service.

It is time again for the KING TIDE! Low-lying areas all along the coast, and especially around Humboldt Bay, are gonna get swampy just before noon tomorrow, and then again Sunday at just after noon. It’s the time of year for King Tides — those massive, photogenic eight-plus-foot floods that swallow the landscape and provide a little glimpse of what every day is going to look like 30 years or so from now.

It’s a cool site, and if you have a good camera you can help perform some citizen scienpce this weekend. The California Coastal Commission’s “King Tides Project” is seeking photographic documentation of the King Tide (see details at this link) and so is the City of Arcata, if you happen to be watching from Arcata. See details below.

And so is the Outpost! Email us your photos (news@lostcoastoutpost.com), tag us on the Twitter (@lcoutpost) or the ‘gram (@lostcoastoutpost), or send ‘em to us on the Facebook. We want to see things underwater that are not usually underwater!

Out of the area this weekend? Don’t fret: Bigger and better King Tides are returning in January. 

From the City of Arcata:

The City of Arcata is asking for community help in chronicling information about water levels on Arcata Bay, and in local creeks and streams, by taking photos of affected areas, especially during King Tide events.

Last year, more than 60 King Tide photos were uploaded to the City’s King Tides Story Map. The photos document Sea Level Rise impacts by providing a visual record of tidal impacts at peak tides from year to year.

  • December 22 11:00 a.m.: Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center “King Tides at the Marsh” presentation by Elliott Dabill, Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM)
  • December 22 11:26 a.m.: See King Tide Guide 8’49” King Tide Documentation
  • December 23 12:11 p.m.: See King Tide Guide 8’57” King Tide Documentation

Information about the tidal event, printable maps showing locations of especially impacted areas with elevations, and a space for community members to upload photos and mark the location of their observations during King Tides can be found at:

https://www.cityofarcata.org/759/Sea-Level-Rise.

At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 22, 2018, Elliot Dabill, President of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM), will be presenting “King Tides at the Marsh” and leading a tour of tidal effects. Interested people will meet at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, 569 S. G Street, Arcata. City staff will also be on hand to address climate change concerns.

Do not be dismayed if you are unable to be involved during the last King Tides of 2018, as there will be another opportunity in January! Be on the lookout for information about the first King Tides of 2019 on January 20 and 21. Mark your calendars now to be part of King Tide events at the end of 2018 and the beginning of the new year!

For more information, please call 707-822-5955 or email sdiehlmccarthy@cityofarcata.org.

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