King tides bring coastal flooding to the Bay Area every winter. But this fall and winter, the region is expected to see the highest tides in 18 years.
Why does this year have the potential for near all-time high water levels? It’s the combination of a few things, not only El Niño.
First, tides are caused by the sun and moon’s gravitational pull on Earth. Earth reaches its closest orbit to the sun in early January, which means the sun has a slightly stronger pull on our tides in the winter…