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Check out the last King Tides of the year—and our future sea levels

Tomorrow is already lapping at your door

By Adam Brinklow
King Tides near the Golden Gate Bridge.
King Tides near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Photo by Sheila Fitzgerald

Today marks the last of the 2016 King Tides along the California coast, that time of the year when the sun and moon work in gravitational tandem to pull the Pacific in a bit closer than usual.

On their own, King Tides aren’t much of a problem; it’s an entirely predictable phenomena that, for the most part, makes it easier to spot the city’s low-lying areas with the naked eye.

But everyone from climatologists to city planners cast a bit of a wary eye on the waves this time of year, as predictions about rising sea levels worldwide indicate that the degree of minor flooding we see around King Tide time now will one day be our normal tidal activity.

Yes, the future is here, at least as far as the waves are concerned. Here’s a quick look around the web at the tides’ most recent performance—and perhaps a preview of an average day circa 2050 or so.

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