Skip to main content
University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Home
  • News
  • Weekly Weather Event -Week of November 1st

Weekly Weather Event -Week of November 1st

November 5, 2021

A low-pressure system is moving through up the East Coast today, November 5th, bringing heavy rain and coastal flooding from Florida all the way up to the Mid-Atlantic coast. Most of the rain will be concentrated towards the south, and the Carolinas are expected to see some of the heaviest rain and flooding with up to 5 inches of rain possible in spots. Wind gusts are also expected to be as strong as 60 mph along the coast.

Alongside the wind and rain, coastal flooding may be the biggest impact from this storm. South Florida has already experienced high water levels as of the morning of November 5th, largely due to the presence of higher-than-normal tides associated with the new moon. These tides are being considered King Tides, a colloquial, non-scientific term for exceptionally high tides. Often, King Tides are used to describe the highest tides at a given location for the year.

The highest tides of the year tend to occur in the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere. This is largely due to favorable positions of the sun and the moon relative to Earth, pushing high tides to their yearly peak and resulting in elevated water levels. Combined with the coming storm, South Carolina’s coast could see water levels of up to 8 feet, a level that has only been exceeded five times since 1934.

We recommend staying up to date with information on this storm.