Abnormally high tides are bringing flooding to low-lying areas of Southern California, including Newport Beach and Long Beach, that may last longer than initially expected.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday extended flood warnings for all coastal counties in Southern California until 2 p.m. Friday, said Devin Black, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office. They were due Thursday at 1 p.m.
Orange and San Diego counties are under a more severe flood warning until Thursday afternoon and will be downgraded to a coastal warning until Friday afternoon.
Black said the weather service received reports of “seawater in low-lying areas” and “shallow water extending to the base of some structures.”
Black said Long Beach has been hardest hit and has been a major area of concern over the past few weeks.
Tides are expected to approach 8 feet Thursday morning before receding by the weekend.
Some of this week’s tides broke records: “They were definitely extreme,” Black said.
On Monday morning, the San Pedro tide gauge reached 8.02 feet, breaking the previous record of 7.93 feet set in January 2005. Other tide gauges in Southern California also reached record levels, including in La Jolla.
Black said that while tides are high in the area, “the angle and strength of the waves are also a big factor,” so San Diego and Orange counties are at higher risk because they are more susceptible to southwesterly waves.
High tides and flooding could be a harbinger of worse activity this winter, as higher tides are expected around the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Martin Luther King Jr. Day holidays — the so-called king tides Californians look forward to every year.
Looking ahead, a weather system is expected to move through the area on Saturday and Sunday, potentially bringing rain to Los Angeles.
Times staff writers Rong-Gong Lin II and Hannah Fry contributed to this report.