King tides cause flooding and road closures along Southern California coast
Record-high tides in Southern California have flooded coastal neighborhoods, closed sections of the Pacific Coast Highway and disrupted Metrolink service, with flood alerts expected to remain in place through Thursday.
Unusually high tides on Tuesday inundated parts of Southern California’s shoreline, prompting the closure of multiple sections of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and affecting local transit.
Caltrans reported that both directions of PCH between Warner Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard in Orange County were shut down, and northbound lanes between Seapoint Street and Warner Avenue were also closed. As water continued to rise, the highway remained closed in both directions between Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.
In Newport Beach, officials activated pumps and constructed sand berms to protect vulnerable neighborhoods along the Balboa Peninsula. The Newport Boulevard Bridge waterway was closed from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to limit boat wakes, with a second closure scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The tide reached 8.4 feet at 10 a.m., according to forecasters. A tide gauge in San Pedro recorded 8.02 feet on Monday, surpassing the previous record of 7.93 feet set in 2005. The National Weather Service warned that tides could stay near record levels through Wednesday, increasing the risk of additional flooding in areas with limited beach sand.
Metrolink’s Orange County Line was suspended between Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside, with service limited to Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo through Friday.
Weather forecasts indicate dry, mild conditions for Los Angeles and Orange counties through Friday, with a gradual cooling trend and increasing cloud cover. A brief chance of rain is expected Friday, with a higher probability Saturday into Sunday, though projected amounts are under an inch.
"Still looks like a high chance of rain with the most likely period being Saturday into Sunday but at this time amounts seem to be under an inch," the weather agency said.
Coastal flood warnings remain in effect for Orange County through 1 p.m. Thursday, while a coastal flood advisory covers Los Angeles County for the same period.