King tides flood SoCal coast and close Pacific Coast Highway

Monster tides inundated Southern California’s coastline Tuesday, inundating waterfront neighborhoods and closing stretches of the Pacific Coast Highway.

Coastal chaos is expected to continue until Thursday, with forecasters warning that unusually high morning tides could cause more flooding in vulnerable seaside communities.

In Orange County, flooding forced the closure of both directions of PCH between Warner Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard Tuesday morning, according to Caltrans. Northbound lanes were also closed between Seapoint Street and Warner Avenue.

As water continued to pour onto the causeway even after the tide began to recede, PCH was eventually closed in both directions between Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.

Newport Beach was also bracing for rising waters, with officials activating pumps and building sand berms to protect vulnerable neighborhoods, particularly along the Balboa Peninsula.

The waterway under the Newport Boulevard Bridge was closed from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to prevent boat wakes from sending more water into neighboring properties during the morning high tide.

The tide reached a record high of 8.4 feet at 10 a.m., forecasters said.

Boaters in Newport Harbor were asked to slow down and use caution near low-lying waterfront areas. The waterway under the bridge is expected to close again Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The flooding comes as tides along the Southland coast continue to approach historic levels.

A tide gauge in San Pedro reached 8.02 feet Monday, breaking the previous record of 7.93 feet set on Jan. 10, 2005, according to the National Weather Service. Gauge records date back to November 1923.

Tides could remain near record levels through Wednesday, forecasters warn.

Newport Beach officials also suspended parking enforcement until Wednesday evening to give residents time to move their vehicles out of flood-prone areas.

A coastal flood warning remained in effect for the Orange County coastline until 1 p.m. Thursday, while a coastal flood advisory covered the Los Angeles County coastline during the same period.

Tides were about 1 to 1.7 feet above forecast in Orange County and about 1 to 1.5 feet above forecast along the Los Angeles County coast.

More flooding and damage is possible in areas where little or no sandy beach remains, or where previous high tides have already caused problems, the NWS warned.

Rising waters also disrupted rail service. Metrolink’s Orange County Line was suspended Monday between Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside, with trains departing and terminating at Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo through Friday.

Away from the soggy coastline, Los Angeles and Orange counties can expect dry, mild weather at least through Friday, with temperatures gradually cooling and clouds increasing.

Rain could arrive this weekend, although forecasters say the potential storm system is trending toward weakening in computer models.

“There still appears to be a high chance of rain, with the most likely period being Saturday through Sunday, but at present amounts appear to be less than an inch,” according to the weather agency.

The chance of a brief shower Friday is between 15% and 25%, with Saturday evening offering the best chance of rain. Showers could ease by Sunday afternoon, although confidence in the timing remains moderate.

Current projections call for about a third to a half of an inch of rain in most areas, with the eastern San Gabriel Mountains potentially seeing about an inch.

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