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Beachgoers need to watch out for high tides
By Susan Chambers, Staff Writer
Thursday, November 22, 2007 | No comments posted.
COOS BAY — Headed to the beach over the holiday
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is urging beachgoers be cautious this week as extremely high tides are predicted to hit the coast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration prediction is for high tides of 9-plus feet at Charleston beginning today and continuing through Tuesday. Tides of 9.7 feet are predicted at 10:52 a.m. on Saturday and 11:37 a.m. on Sunday, corresponding with the strong pull of the full moon on Saturday.
The spring tides — so named because the sun, moon and earth are in a line and their combined gravitational forces cause the water and tides to “leap” or “jump up” — also are happening with the moon at perigee, or closest to the earth.
Spring tides also mean there will be some extreme low tides which, normally, would be good for clamming.
These low tides, though, will be after dark: a -2-foot tide at 5:53 p.m. on Saturday and a -2.1-foot tide at 6:41 p.m. on Sunday.
The parks department is more concerned about the high tides.
“This is a good time to keep an eye on the ocean,” Beach Safety Education Coordinator Robert Smith said in a press release. “Even most experienced beachcombers can be caught unaware unless they stay alert.”
Smith said beaches become narrower during high tides and when sand is eroded away.
The beach at Bastendorff County Park and Sunset Bay State Park are similar in that respect, Coastal Coordinator for Southern Oregon Beaches Calum Stevenson said.
“There’s very little, if any, beach at Sunset to walk on,” Stevenson said, when high tides also are fueled by winter storms.
This week, though, the National Weather Service said beachgoers can relax.
“It’s our first taste of a cold winter — not a wet winter,” National Weather Service spokesman Ryan Sandler said. “The weather should be tranquil. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
The Weather Service is calling for mostly sunny days and clear nights through Monday on South Coast, with highs in the lower to mid-50s and overnight lows to the 30s and 40s. Morning fog can be expected, too, Sandler said.
“This is good for holiday travelers,” he added.
Stevenson said beach visitors still should be careful of sneaker waves, logs rolling in the surf and rip currents at the beach, even though there are few people who dare swim in the cold water.
“It’s still a danger,” he said, “and people need to be aware.”
People also should be careful to keep their pets on a leash. Dogs can get washed to sea in rip currents or get too close to the edge of a cliff and fall over — into the sea or on the rocks.
Bastendorff Beach is noted for its rip currents, Stevenson said.
“People not from the beach can get themselves in trouble,” he said.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is urging beachgoers be cautious this week as extremely high tides are predicted to hit the coast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration prediction is for high tides of 9-plus feet at Charleston beginning today and continuing through Tuesday. Tides of 9.7 feet are predicted at 10:52 a.m. on Saturday and 11:37 a.m. on Sunday, corresponding with the strong pull of the full moon on Saturday.
The spring tides — so named because the sun, moon and earth are in a line and their combined gravitational forces cause the water and tides to “leap” or “jump up” — also are happening with the moon at perigee, or closest to the earth.
Spring tides also mean there will be some extreme low tides which, normally, would be good for clamming.
These low tides, though, will be after dark: a -2-foot tide at 5:53 p.m. on Saturday and a -2.1-foot tide at 6:41 p.m. on Sunday.
The parks department is more concerned about the high tides.
“This is a good time to keep an eye on the ocean,” Beach Safety Education Coordinator Robert Smith said in a press release. “Even most experienced beachcombers can be caught unaware unless they stay alert.”
Smith said beaches become narrower during high tides and when sand is eroded away.
The beach at Bastendorff County Park and Sunset Bay State Park are similar in that respect, Coastal Coordinator for Southern Oregon Beaches Calum Stevenson said.
“There’s very little, if any, beach at Sunset to walk on,” Stevenson said, when high tides also are fueled by winter storms.
This week, though, the National Weather Service said beachgoers can relax.
“It’s our first taste of a cold winter — not a wet winter,” National Weather Service spokesman Ryan Sandler said. “The weather should be tranquil. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
The Weather Service is calling for mostly sunny days and clear nights through Monday on South Coast, with highs in the lower to mid-50s and overnight lows to the 30s and 40s. Morning fog can be expected, too, Sandler said.
“This is good for holiday travelers,” he added.
Stevenson said beach visitors still should be careful of sneaker waves, logs rolling in the surf and rip currents at the beach, even though there are few people who dare swim in the cold water.
“It’s still a danger,” he said, “and people need to be aware.”
People also should be careful to keep their pets on a leash. Dogs can get washed to sea in rip currents or get too close to the edge of a cliff and fall over — into the sea or on the rocks.
Bastendorff Beach is noted for its rip currents, Stevenson said.
“People not from the beach can get themselves in trouble,” he said.
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