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Autumn's High Tide Causes Flooding On Miami Beach

MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – South Florida's autumnal high tides have arrived which means canals, rivers and coastlines are at risk of flooding.

On Miami Beach Monday morning, there was some flooding on West Avenue between 7th and 11th Streets, West Avenue and 17th Street and Alton Road and 8th Street.

The flooding is caused by unusually high tides which take place in September, October and November.

The tides are expected to be their highest Monday October 15th – 18th and again on November 13th and 16th.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these high tide events are expected to be 9'' – 11" above the average high tides for 2012 during these dates.

Tidal fluctuations are a natural occurrence and typically go unnoticed. However extreme tide events such as these have the potential to impact drainage systems and may cause flooding in low lying areas connected to storm drainage systems. Residents are advised to use caution when traveling on any streets with standing water.

Tides are influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, and therefore cycle on a daily, monthly, and seasonal basis. Tides can also be affected by factors such as sea level, and weather, particularly wind and storm surge.

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.

Tuesday morning, the higher-than-normal high tide will take place at 9:49 a.m., Wednesday at 10:39 a.m. and Thursday at 11:31 a.m.

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