First Alert Weather Days: Local roadway impacts

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - On Tuesday, October 7, the WTOC First Alert Weather Team issued First Alert Weather Days through Friday due to high tides being tracked that could cause coastal flooding along some roadways closer to the coast.

One of the major roadways that has the highest chance of being influenced from the “King Tides” is Highway 80.

Minor flooding is predicted along this road starting around 9.5 feet. However, any tide above 10 feet can cause travel issues along Highway 80 between the Bull River Bridge and Tybee Island.

Throughout the rest of the work week, we anticipate similar high tide levels each morning.

Additionally, higher levels are expected on Thursday evening.

Why is this happening?

Our tides are primarily created by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on Earth during its orbit around the sun and the moon’s orbit around Earth.

Essentially, these tides are long-term waves that roll around the planet as the Earth is “pulled” back and forth due to the interaction of the sun and moon.

The moon exerts about twice as much gravitational force as the sun, and is the larger influence on our tides due its closer proximity to the Earth.

Both the Earth and the moon move in an elliptical orbit, meaning not a perfect circle.

When the Earth is closer to the sun in its yearly cycle and the moon is in its closest point to Earth, this is when the gravitation force created is the strongest, resulting in slightly higher tides during that time.

In addition, we recently experienced a full moon. During both full and new moons the sun and moon are aligned with the Earth, creating an additional gravitational pull on the ocean.

This also results in slightly higher tides.

The combination of these forces leads to the higher-than-average tides we have been observing along our coast over the past few days.

Local Weather Influences

Beyond the astronomical elements contributing to the tide forecast, local weather conditions (particularly wind) play a significant role.

Throughout the week, we have had breezy eastern winds coming off the Atlantic each day.

These winds push more water inland as the tide comes in, leading to slightly higher tide levels specifically for our area.

This has been more prevalent in our mornings so far this week.

Furthermore, more gusty winds are expected in the area on Thursday and Friday as a cold front pushes in, and eventually a low-pressure system forms off our coast.

However, this should change to a northerly wind by Saturday night, which should help mitigate the high tides going into next week.

Until then, be sure to stay updated on the latest forecast each day, especially if you plan on traveling to or from Tybee on Highway 80 over the next few days.