CHARLESTON, S.C. — Drivers heading into the Charleston peninsula should plan around the tide again Tuesday and Wednesday, as the year’s highest astronomical tides team up with persistent northeast winds to push saltwater onto low-lying streets.
The National Weather Service expects Tuesday’s morning high tide shortly after 9 a.m., and Wednesday’s close to 10 a.m. Forecasters said the peak water each day should come with those morning tides, and that Charleston could top major flood stage during this cycle.
Sunday’s morning tide passed 8 feet in the harbor, enough to shut Lockwood Drive, Hagood Avenue, Broad and Fishburne streets, and the S.C. 61 on-ramp. Major flooding begins at 8 feet; at 7.5 feet the Medical District and pieces of East Bay and Market streets start taking on water.
The full moon on Oct. 26 and the moon’s closest pass to Earth on Oct. 28 are behind the extra-high water.
The Charleston Police Department asked drivers to slow down and use good judgment, warned that some roads and intersections could become impassable, and said barricades mean turn around. Flood warnings covered Charleston and Colleton counties Monday morning, and the city lists live closures on its TIDEeye map.
Filed under: Charleston SC Weather News
