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Blame The Moon For S. Florida’s Tidal Flooding

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Tidal flooding on Miami Beach (Source: CBS4)

Tidal flooding on Miami Beach (Source: CBS4)

Halloween
Halloween

MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Parts of South Florida continue to flood due to the annual autumnal high tides which cause canals, rivers and coastlines to flood without any rain.

Typically, South Florida sees flooding from heavy rain but in this case, we can blame the flooding on the moon.

Each year, sometimes up to twice a year, the sun, earth and moon line up just right to create higher than normal tides.

Right now, the moon is a little closer than normal and during the morning, lines up with the sun to produce a greater pull on the oceans. This pull can be predicted as easily as the time of sun rise or moon phase. Tuesday’s peak tide took place around 9:49 a.m. Wednesday is 10:39 a.m. and Thursday’s is 11:31 a.m.

During these peak tide times, low roads are likely to flood such as West Avenue, Alton Road and Purdy Avenue on Miami Beach.

Because South Florida’s storm water system depend on gravity to drain excess water to the ocean, these high tides can also flow back up into the drainage systems along the coast and canals, flooding streets and other areas.

It’s also important to remember that the flood water is coming from rising sea water which is salt water and salty water can cause rusting and corrosion of your car.

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