Other News
Mar 11, 2024: Queers in Unexpected Places: Searching for (and Finding) Gender and Sexual Non-Conformity in the Rural and Early PNW
Mar 7, 2024: DRAFT Richardson Marsh Preserve Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Dec 5, 2023: County Council Member Jane Fuller and Senator Liz Lovelett to Host Public Meeting on Lopez
Nov 3, 2023: County and Town Send Open Letter to State Officials Regarding Impacts of Poor Ferry Service
Sep 29, 2023: Conservation Land Bank Announces Special Meeting to Discuss Watmough Bay Preserve Addition
Sep 14, 2023: The mobile dental van is coming to Lopez! // ¡La camioneta dental móvil ya llega a López!
Aug 22, 2023: San Juan County Adopts 32-Hour Work Week in the Name of Fiscal Health, Recruitment, and Islander Wellness
May 25, 2023: Recap of Lopez Neighborhood Meeting Regarding the Relocation of Public Works Facilities
May 23, 2023: District 3 Councilmember Jane Fuller Opens Office on Lopez and Hosts Community Conversation
Apr 17, 2023: Give Lopez Starts April 17th - A two week fundraiser benefiting 15 Lopez Island Non-Profits
Sep 22, 2022: Interim Watmough Preserve Addition Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Christmas King Tides Update
Dec 27, 2022
By Kwiaht
If you were in any doubt about it, Tuesday morning’s high tide was a record-breaker.
While the astronomical tide was **only** +9.0 feet, storm winds pushed it up nearly two more feet in Fisherman Bay. Sustained southeasterly winds were in the range of 20-30 miles per hour, and our Doppler instrument at Weeks Wetland recorded gusts as high as 56.7 mph. We observed tidal flooding across Weeks Point Road, and about halfway across Bayshore Road at the Otis Perkins bend. More than half of the Weeks Wetland preserve was submerged.
Today’s was the highest tide we have recorded in Fisherman Bay since we began making measurements 13 years ago. The runner-up was December 10, 2014, which lost by about six inches. Several other “king tides†since 2011 have just topped +10 feet.
The attached photo compares the bend at Otis Perkins during the 2014 high tide (thanks to Dandy Porter and her dog!) with this morning’s tide. Note the debris that washed in today.
This is a powerful demonstration that shoreline roads and homes are already at risk from the increasing storminess of our winters, long before the islands experience any noticeable sea level rise. The storms of the 2020s-2030s will likely result in more frequent tides of +11 feet and some even higher.
If you have photos of your shoreline from this morning that you are willing to share, please email them to info@kwiaht.org
And watch for notices on Lopez Rocks for a video on our oyster-breakwater project last summer, and a live winter workshop on ecologically sound and simple shoreline defenses!
Today’s was the highest tide we have recorded in Fisherman Bay since we began making measurements 13 years ago. The runner-up was December 10, 2014, which lost by about six inches. Several other “king tides†since 2011 have just topped +10 feet.
The attached photo compares the bend at Otis Perkins during the 2014 high tide (thanks to Dandy Porter and her dog!) with this morning’s tide. Note the debris that washed in today.
This is a powerful demonstration that shoreline roads and homes are already at risk from the increasing storminess of our winters, long before the islands experience any noticeable sea level rise. The storms of the 2020s-2030s will likely result in more frequent tides of +11 feet and some even higher.
If you have photos of your shoreline from this morning that you are willing to share, please email them to info@kwiaht.org
And watch for notices on Lopez Rocks for a video on our oyster-breakwater project last summer, and a live winter workshop on ecologically sound and simple shoreline defenses!
Comparing the height of 2014 and 2022 king tides at Otis Perkins