NOAA/Sea Grant: Big Annual King Tides Coming To Hawaii; "Should Consider This A Practice Run"
The highest water levels of the summer are expected around the upcoming peak astronomic tides of the year, known as “king tides,” occurring over a few days around May 26, June 23 and July 21 in Hawaiʻi. These may produce flooding events similar to what occurred in late April, and University of Hawaiʻi researchers say summer will provide a glimpse of what will eventually become routine with continued global warming and sea-level rise.
Localized impacts may include coastal erosion, wave over-wash and temporary flooding in low-lying backshore areas around storm drain systems. Impacts may be more severe if the upcoming king tides coincide with an elevated surf event, which occur most often on south and east shores this time of year, and/or during heavy rains. Actual water levels along exposed coasts will largely depend on wave heights during the high tides.
The University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Center for Coastal and Climate Science and Resilience (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant CCSR), University of Hawaiʻi Sea Level Center and Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) have been tracking high ocean water levels in the region, and are advising that the state likely will continue to experience unusually high tide levels through the summer.
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Chip Fletcher, associate dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, adds “Water levels may reach more than 1 foot above typical high tide and produce unusual flooding in low-lying regions. Within a few decades this will be the new normal. Hawaiʻi should consider this a practice run, and reevaluate policies and development practices accordingly.”
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http://www.hawaii.edu/news/2017/05/19/sea-grant-king-tides/