2009.07.21
Higher tides along the East Coast
Here's something I'm summarizing in Wednesday's short Weather Journal column, but is better told in its full format as written by Scott Harper of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk: Tides ranging half a foot to 2 feet above normal expectations have been observed along the East Coast. Some scientists think it could be a new decade-long phase taking hold in the Atlantic.
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The same thing happened last month about this time. The water on the sound was up to the walkway on the dock.
Comment by Henry — July 22, 2009 @ 8:15 am
"The Tides" was a real interesting article. I especially like the sentence......“There’s no scientific debate that these anomalous cycles happen,” Boon said. “It’s what causes them that’s debated.”
There's so much about the sun, weather, climate, currents and tides that is not understood, and that's why the world should not be going nuts with assumed man-made global warming...........we just don't know.
Since these sudden rises in tides have apparently happened many times before, I'd be interested to learn what kind of winter the mid-Atlantic has experienced when we have this going on. I'm looking for any edge on my upcoming winter snowfall prediction, since I choked so misserably last time.
Comment by Rick — July 22, 2009 @ 8:27 am
I witnessed this last month, and wondered what was up. I lived in Charleston, SC 25 yrs ago, and when I went back there last month, the tide had come up above, or literally through the wall along East Battery, reaching up to the houses. I never remember it being like this, except during storms. It was amazing. By the time we got there, the tide was going down, but my son got these pictures of what it was like. I would say by then, the deepest part of the water was almost a foot, maybe a bit more.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheogre/3746159354/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheogre/3745363977/
Comment by Michele — July 22, 2009 @ 8:43 am
I think the problem here is that it is happening up and down the entire east coast at once. That's the unusual part.
Sure, higher tides happen. But everywhere at once? I don't know about that.
I had a map that went along with this article and it's astonishing what I found. It's not just the east coast. It's the east coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the west coast. Interestingly, this is not happening in Alaska. Tides are near or below normal there.
If the NAO is playing a big role in this, I think it will be interesting to see what happens next. You know something is up when local scientists along the coast have to call the government scientists for explanation about something.
Comment by Brandon R. — July 22, 2009 @ 1:22 pm
I have procured the link to that map:
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.shtml
It's very interesting stuff.
My opinion is simple. Compared to the age of this planet, well, you know where we rank. Whatever changes that are possibly happening on this planet could very well be normal. How can we act like we know otherwise when nobody predicted this to happen?
Comment by Brandon R. — July 22, 2009 @ 1:53 pm