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Writer's pictureCoast Awhile Vacations

King Tide Time: What is a King Tide?

Updated: Nov 8, 2021



We decided to enjoy The Follitude townhome at Water's Edge with a couple of dear friends. On the morning after our arrival, a view out the window showed an unusually full marsh engulfed by a high tide. It had been about this time last year since we had seen the marsh flooded to this extent.


Once or twice a year we experience a weather phenomenon known as the King Tide, which unlike a typical high tide has the added dimension of the sun and the moon being in a position that tugs on tidal forces making it more of a "royal pain" for those who live in the low country. Add other weather effects such a low pressure system and high winds driving into the coast and you have a recipe for water being piled up all along the coastline even farther than a typical King Tide. So let's call this an Uber King Tide.


As we so often do, our morning started off with a short trek over to our favorite breakfast spot, The Lost Dog Cafe. After our meal, we headed back to Water's Edge only to find that while we were casually sipping our cup of coffee that tide was inching up higher and higher. Portions of the street we had traveled only forty minutes before was now half a foot under water. We never stopped to consider bringing waders, because none of us even knew there was a King Tide in effect.


The King Tide, because of the additional weather factors, made national headlines as cities like Charleston, experienced localized flooding. Here's a just a few stories of additional reading:






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