King tide season has arrived in Western WA

November marks the start of king tide season. The winter months are when the marine waters of Western Washington get their highest astronomical high tides of the year.

What is a king tide?

King Tides are the highest tides that occur during each winter season when the sun, moon and Earth are all aligned. Earth rotates around the sun in an elliptical orbit and, during the winter season, the planet is closer to the sun in that orbit, producing a greater gravitational pull from the sun. When the moon is aligned with the sun, both produce a stronger gravitational pull on the oceans, resulting in king tides.

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King tides by themselves can cause some minor tidal overflow flooding in low-lying coastal areas of Western Washington. But if a storm with lower atmospheric pressure coincides with a king tide, then a higher tidal anomaly can occur. And if the storm is also producing strong winds, wave action can result in greater coastal flooding damage.

In late October 2003, a strong wind event occurred during the time of king tides. The most memorable damage happened at Ivar’s Restaurant next door to the former Mukilteo ferry terminal.

Another similar king tide event occurred on December 17, 2012. A number of places throughout the Puget Sound coastal region suffered high water and wave action damage, including water and logs into homes — not a desired holiday gift under the tree.

In recent years, coastal communities like Westport have had tidal flooding in downtown streets, even without a strong storm present. In late December 2022, a king tide combined with heavy amounts of rainfall in Olympia resulted in jellyfish floating onto downtown streets. During that same time period, lower parts of South Park in Seattle also suffered tidal flooding.

In the next few months, there will be several king tide periods noted on forecast tide charts. For Seattle, tidal overflow coastal flooding usually starts at around 13.5 feet. Here are the upcoming king tide periods of at least 12.5 feet:

A dress rehearsal for a king tide coincides with this Friday’s Beaver Full Moon. The highest tide on the tide tables is Friday, reaching nearly 12.5 feet. Fortunately, no big storm is expected to coincide with this initial close-to king tide event. Additional king tide periods this winter include:

• December 15-18
• January 1-7
• January 13-16
• February 1-4
• March 1-3

The highest predicted tide of the winter season for Seattle will be on Dec. 16 and again on Feb. 2 and 3, all at 12.9 feet. Jan. 4 and 5 will also be close at 12.8 feet.

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For Everett, greater than 12-foot high tides include:

• November 16-19
• December 14-19
• December 31 through January 5
• January 12-16
• January 29 through February 2

The highest predicted tide of the season for Everett will be on Dec. 16 at 12.8 feet.

King tide events combined with stormy, windy weather are likely to occur in the future. Shoreline property owners can take action now to help avoid damage such as reinforcing seawalls and other protective structures. Stay informed ahead of time for potential Western Washington coastal flooding by monitoring the National Weather Service, your local NOAA weather radio station and tuning into 97.3 FM KIRO Newsradio.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. You can read more of Ted’s stories here and follow him on X