Large waves lapped at San Francisco’s Embarcadero late Saturday amid predictions of the highest summer tides on record in the days ahead.
Several late-night visitors checked out the scene as the water spilled over the sidewalk and into the street around Pier 14. Pedestrians lifted their pant legs as they waded through water up to their ankles, and bicyclists splashed the overflow around the sidewalk and street.
Waves were predicted to reach 1.9 feet at 10:20 p.m. Saturday at bayshore locations along San Francisco and San Pablo bays, plus low-lying areas along the Pacific Coast.
The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood advisory through Wednesday morning for San Francisco Bay, with up to 2 feet of inundation above ground level in low-lying areas near shorelines and waterways.
While lower than the historic tidal flooding in January, this weekend’s tides were expected to beat the current summer record of 1.7 feet in July 2022, the weather service said.
Waves were predicted to reach 2 feet at 11:10 p.m. Sunday, 1.9 feet at 12:02 a.m. Tuesday, and 1.6 feet at 12:56 a.m. Wednesday.
The high summer tides, rare for the nighttime hours, are the result of sea level rise from global warming and a surging El Niño.
The weather service advised allowing extra time for travel, avoiding driving around barricades or through water, and protecting flood-prone property during the king tides, which are unusually high and caused by the normal alignment of the sun, moon and Earth.