King Tide Coastal Flooding Peaks Today

The National Weather Service has continued a special weather statement, advising the public of coastal flooding in Maui County, associated with the King Tide event happening this weekend.

Maui Now Graphic. Background image: King Tide at Olowalu (5.26.17) PC: Asa Ellison

The NWS says coastal flooding associated with King Tides will continue to be a possibility for the next couple of days. The greatest potential for coastal flooding impacts will be during the mid to late afternoon hours through Monday, when the highest tides are expected. (Area specific forecasts for tides are posted below).

An east swell generated by Tropical Cyclone Fernanda is also here, bringing above normal surf along east facing shores. This swell is expected to persist through the weekend. This will likely cause greater wave run- up along some exposed windward coastlines, especially during high tide.

The National Weather Service has also extended a High Surf Advisory for the East facing shores of Maui and Molokaʻi, now in effect until 6 a.m. on Monday, July 24, 2017.  Expect surf of 5 to 9 feet with occasional higher sets through Monday morning.

Impacts of the King Tides may include flooding of beaches that are normally dry, salt water inundation of typically vulnerable low-lying roads, docks, boat ramps and other coastal infrastructure. The potential threat for coastal flooding will eventually be reduced early next week as the peak daily tides diminish.

You can help authorities document the current King Tides by taking photos and entering them into the NOAA Seagrant database.  Photos will provide information for research about how future changes in sea level may impact our coastal areas. The database will be used to develop coastal planning.

The following are the daily high tide times at select locations across Maui County, which will correspond to the maximum coastal impact. The predictions are forecasts, but actual high tides may be greater than what has been projected:

Hāna, Maui:

2017/07/22 Sat 3:19 PM 3.05 H
2017/07/23 Sun 3:57 PM 3.05 H
2017/07/24 Mon 4:34 PM 2.96 H
2017/07/25 Tue 5:09 PM 2.79 H
2017/07/26 Wed 5:42 PM 2.57 H

Kahului, Maui:

2017/07/22 Sat 2:39 PM 2.91 H
2017/07/23 Sun 3:17 PM 2.91 H
2017/07/24 Mon 3:54 PM 2.82 H
2017/07/25 Tue 4:29 PM 2.66 H
2017/07/26 Wed 5:02 PM 2.44 H
2017/07/27 Thu 5:33 PM 2.21 H

Mākena, Maui:

2017/07/22 Sat 4:00 PM 2.12 H
2017/07/23 Sun 4:38 PM 2.12 H
2017/07/24 Mon 5:15 PM 2.06 H
2017/07/25 Tue 5:50 PM 1.94 H
2017/07/26 Wed 6:23 PM 1.78 H

Kaunakakai, Molokaʻi

2017/07/22 Sat 3:49 PM 2.77 H
2017/07/23 Sun 4:29 PM 2.74 H
2017/07/24 Mon 5:08 PM 2.62 H
2017/07/25 Tue 5:45 PM 2.44 H
2017/07/26 Wed 6:21 PM 2.20 H

Kamalapau, Lānaʻi

2017/07/22 Sat 3:53 PM 2.78 H
2017/07/23 Sun 4:36 PM 2.73 H
2017/07/24 Mon 5:17 PM 2.61 H
2017/07/25 Tue 5:58 PM 2.43 H
2017/07/26 Wed 6:38 PM 2.20 H