NOAA - Sea Level Rise Behind Record Number Of High-Tide Flooding Days Between 5/18 and 4/19

[hatrack]

Sea-level rise led to a record number of high-tide flooding days in the United States between May 2018 and April 2019, NOAA said yesterday. And it could get worse as climate change drives waters higher. "The 2018 State of High Tide Flooding and 2019 Outlook," released by NOAA yesterday, showed that coastal communities experienced an average of five high-tide flooding days over the one-year period. That number tied with the historic record set in 2015. Floodwaters disrupted traffic, slowed commerce, compromised septic systems and dumped salt on farmlands, according to the report.

Areas that broke records include Washington, D.C., which saw 22 days of high-tide flooding; Wilmington, N.C., with 14 days; and Annapolis and Baltimore, Md., with 12 days. Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA's National Ocean Service, said a recent visit to Norfolk, Va., was "eye-opening" to how disruptive and costly high-tide flooding is to the region. "We cannot wait to act," she said during a press call yesterday. "This issue gets only more urgent and complex with each passing day."

NOAA based its report on tide gauges placed along the coasts. Gregory Dusek, chief scientist at the agency's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, said one of the longest-running gauges is in Baltimore. Between 1902 and 1936, the gauge measured 12 high-tide flood days. The same gauge measured a record 12 high-tide flood days in 2018 alone. "I think this is a good example of just how dramatically high-tide flooding is changing due to sea-level rise," Dusek said.

Nationally, high-tide flooding is expected to increase to an average of 15 days by 2030 and 75 days by 2050 under business-as-usual greenhouse gas emission rates. The frequency of flooding events is predicted to be much higher in individual locations.

EDIT

https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2019/07/11/stories/1060722409

[progree]

1. 12 high-tide flood days in 34 years (1902-1936). 12 high-tide flood days in one year (2018).

Between 1902 and 1936, the gauge measured 12 high-tide flood days. The same gauge measured a record 12 high-tide flood days in 2018 alone.

[Princetonian]

2. Yet there are many people who are keen to pay a premium to buy coastline property.

Note to self: buy inland at 200+ ft. above sea level. In 100 years, it will be coastline for the great-grandchildren to enjoy.