King tides Thursday and Friday, combined with high surf from another northwest swell, could make for a dramatic few days along the San Diego County coast — causing some flooding and beach erosion at high tide, but also creating prime chances to explore tide pools at low tide.
That’s especially true as a low-pressure system that brought high winds and scattered showers to the county overnight leaves the region. By 7 a.m. Thursday, more than 1 inch of precipitation had fallen at Palomar Mountain and Lake Cuyamaca, and just under one-third of an inch fell in Ramona and Escondido. Areas closer to the coast got much less rain — including just over a tenth of an inch at the San Diego airport and in La Mesa.
A National Weather Service high surf advisory in effect until Thursday evening warned of large breaking waves of 5 to 7 feet, with occasional sets up to 11 feet — with the highest surf in the southern part of the county.
That’s also where some of the highest tides will be. In National City, the tide will top 7 feet at its highest, around 8:30 a.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday, according to predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration. The tide will be lowest just before 4 p.m. Thursday and around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Exact times and heights will vary at other locations along the coast.
The high surf was expected to create dangerous swimming and surfing conditions, and compounded with the high tides, it could erode beaches and flood some low-lying beach parking lots, forecasters warned, issuing a coastal flooding advisory for Thursday morning.
But the dramatic winter tides could also give a rare opportunity to peer at crustaceans, anemones and other marine life in the nooks and crannies of rocky shorelines when the tide is at its lowest — especially in places like La Jolla, Cabrillo National Monument and Cardiff State Beach in Encinitas. Just not to turn your back to the sea if you do.
Coastal organizations are taking advantage of the opportunity. At low tide Thursday, the Surfrider Foundation will host a tide pool walk in La Jolla, and around high tide Friday morning, the San Diego Audubon Society is leading a walk in Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve on Mission Bay. You can sign up at sandiegoaudubon.org.
The California Coastal Commission, meanwhile, wants the public’s help documenting the king tides. You can share your photos of the high tides at coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/.
Meanwhile, as another low-pressure system moved through the county Wednesday, other areas were being whipped by strong wind from Wednesday into Thursday morning.
But the wind event would move through the county very quickly, said forecaster Philip Gonsalves, and the winds and showers early Thursday should yield to balmier temperatures Friday and Saturday — relatively speaking, anyway.
“We do expect to see a little bit of a rebound in temperatures,” Gonsalves said, “but we’re not expecting temperatures west of the mountains to get out of the 60s.”
