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High Tide Alert On Oregon Coast This Week |
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Covering 180 miles of Oregon coast travel: Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Nehalem, Wheeler, Rockaway, Garibaldi, Tillamook, Oceanside, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport, Waldport, Yachats & Florence.
11/20/07
Secrets of the Season |
High Tide Alert On Oregon Coast This Week
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| Broad sandy beaches like this one at Lincoln City's Nelscott district probably won't be a problem, even during high tides |
(Oregon Coast) – Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is urging beachcombers on holiday coastal visits to be particularly cautious on the beaches this busy Thanksgiving weekend, as predictions of tides 10 feet or higher this week are causing concern.
"This is a good time to keep an eye on the ocean," said OPRD beach safety education coordinator Robert Smith. "Even the most experienced beachcombers can be caught unaware unless they stay alert."
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Smith said that sneaker waves become especially dangerous at times of high tides and during winter storms. "Also, our beaches become narrower when sand is eroded away leaving little room to escape at some points," he added.
Stunning weather for the Oregon coast region is predicted all week, with sunny, blue skies and no trace of rain – another factor that will draw even more to the coastline. In spite of the lovely atmospheric conditions, tides are expected to be abnormally high. although that may not mean much, considering the calm state of the waves.
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| Hug Point: the first bend and the second are seen here, both covered in high waves during calm conditions. |
Keith Chandler, manager of the Seaside Aquarium, said this doesn’t mean there’s much extra danger on the coast. “Right now, the waves are as flat as a fritter,” he said. “There’s no storm system predicted to come in, so it’s not cause for alert. Just be a little extra careful about sneaker waves. If there was a big storm coming in, then a 10-foot high tide would a big deal.”
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Smith said that people should not defer plans to take Thanksgiving holiday breaks on the coast. "Ask any storm watcher - this is a great time to enjoy the beauty of the ocean shore. People just need to respect the ocean by being aware of their surroundings and paying attention to warnings on safety signs."
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| High tides will be good for spectacles like the spouting horn at Depoe Bay |
Chandler said 10-foot high tides are about as high as he’s ever seen them. It means a lot of rocky places, like Hug Point, Arcadia State Park, parts of Newport and Gleneden Beach, etc., won’t be accessible. But bigger, sandy beaches, like those of Cannon Beach, Seaside, Lincoln City and Florence will be fine, except for the danger of sneaker waves.
These tides don’t create too much to worry about, otherwise, Chandler said. “If it was a surf that was getting big on top of the high tides, then it would be dangerous. But you’ve got to watch sneaker waves even on a four-foot tide. It means the rivers will be higher, however. But we get that with big rains too.”
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| Seaside's beach is a broad and rather safe one |
High tides as well as storms also leave beach hazards to watch for, said Smith. "Some logs that were well above the surf line and appeared safe in the summer may be unstable now. It's especially important now to stay clear of logs."
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Chandler said the forecast is for a possible weather system coming in on Sunday, which could be big surf on Saturday. “Big waves generally come in a day ahead of the storms,” he said. “So if that’s the case, then there could be death and destruction with extremely high surf, created by a combination of the high tides and the winds out to sea.”
Tiffany
Boothe, with the Seaside Aquarium, said sneaker waves are common and often
catch people off guard while standing onshore. “You can't see them
and they are impossible to predict,” she said. “These occur
when smaller waves pile up on top each other to form one large wave –
sometimes twice as large as the previous sets. Also, they can carry large
pieces of debris with them such as logs, which present a whole set of
other dangers.”
Boothe said sneaker waves are a universal coastal phenomenon, although they are known to be more common in some areas than others. In the United States, northern California, Oregon and Washington are particularly affected. They can occur at anytime, even if it is calm and the surf is small.
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| The bay at Waldport will not be accessible at such high tides |
On the flipside of the high tides, there will be some rather magnificent low tides, Chandler said: around one foot minus tides. “They’ll be at night, though, so you won’t see much. You’ll probably see a lot of clam diggers at night, and a lot of lanterns.”
Storm watchers need to be alert to cliffside hazards, Smith warned. "The power of the ocean can have a long reach," he said. "Wind and rain can cause unstable conditions on cliffs overlooking the ocean. Wandering off trails for a closer look can be a bad idea."
Newport beach expert Guy DiTorrice noted two of the fatalities in 2006’s winter season involved comforting-looking bluffs. “Remember that we lost a couple tourists last year who were sitting on a sandstone headland undercut by huge waves, taking them out to sea,” said DiTorrice.
Other beach safety tips and closer looks at the dangers
of sneaker waves, rolling logs and rip currents are presented online at
www.oregonbeachsafety.org.
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