King of the Beach

Well, that was quite the weekend for weather and high water but thankfully the Semi-Pen dodged a bit of a bullet in not having any flooding.  On Friday Environment Canada issued a coastal flooding advisory for areas around the Lower Mainland, including Surrey, White Rock, the Semiahmoo First Nation and Boundary Bay.  In case you missed it, here is an edited highlight version of the advisory.

"Abnormal high tides combined with low pressure may produce minor to moderate coastal flooding, as elevated water levels accompanied by strong winds and waves are expected, exceeding highest astronomical tides.  The risk of flooding is the highest this weekend, peaking on Sunday morning.  B.C.’s South Coast is entering a period of high astronomical tides as Earth reaches perihelion, the closest point to the sun.  A low-pressure system will also cross the region this weekend and the falling atmospheric pressure will help further elevate coastal water levels beyond predicted tides.  Moderate winds and storm surge can lead to washed-up debris and erosion along coastal areas.  Minor to moderate coastal flooding is likely along exposed shorelines, especially in low-lying areas. There is a risk of locally significant flooding, especially where onshore winds compound on the highest tides.  Roads and walkways may be difficult to navigate due to flooding and/or debris, such as driftwood and rocks."

Living here in Crescent Heights, working outside all the time and being a beach bum, I always pay attention to various weather reports and the tide forecast for our region, usually using the website tideforecast.com.  The detailed graph showed the forecasted highs and lows of the tide with Saturday, Sunday and Monday peaking at 4.6 metres between 7:00 - 8:00 in the morning and bottoming out near zero metres either side of midnight.  In old school feet, this is over a 15 foot difference in tide height, with millions of litres of ocean water sloshing from one side of the bay to the other.  Adding to the flood threat was an approaching low pressure system that was originally forecast to bring with it southwest winds of 30-40 km/h.  It was these exact conditions that led to the floods of 1982, which left the Nico Wynd golf course flooded with four feet of brackish water and much of Mud Bay farmland including the Art Knapps on KGB under water.  Anyone living in White Rock on Dec. 20, 2018 knows all too well the damage that the combination of high tides and strong winds can do.  

Considering that I helped clean up and repair the flood damage to the Nico Wynd golf course during my Christmas holidays way back then, these king tides  are natural events that I always like to witness first hand.  With a storm forecast to hit the south coast on Sunday morning, I set my alarm clock and got up when it was still dark in order to go down to the beach for the peak tide and storm.  I made it to the bottom of the Christopherson Steps south of Crescent Beach at 7:45 a.m. roughly 20 minutes after the extreme high tide as I had waited until it was light enough to actually see.  The beach at the bottom of the stairs was completely submerged with the water right up against the concrete foundation and rip-rap boulders.  Fortunately there was only a light wind out of the south-west that resulted in small waves breaking on the shore.  I was wearing gumboots but hip-waders would have been a better idea to deal with the splashing from the waves since I ended up with a couple of soakers that I must admit were somewhat expected.

With the water covering almost all of the beach, many of the logs that have been on shore for months suddenly floated free creating a mass of wood and debris all along the waterfront.  With plenty of these logs bobbing along the beach, it made walking along the shore very difficult.  Fortunately I'm quite used to climbing my way over the big rip-rap boulders and was able to pick my way from flooded shore to small islands of beach.  In front of the 120 tonne Crescent Rock boulder where the 18th annual Polar Bare Skinny-dip was held on Jan 1st, there was no beach visible at all and had this king tide hit several days earlier this annual swim would have been cancelled.  Much of the beach past this point that is used by sun-lovers in summer was under water, covered with oyster shells and rolling with logs.  In several areas it was clearly evident where the bank below the BNSF Railway was being eroded, but not to the level it would have been had the forecast storm actually hit our area raising the tide even higher.

The king tide created another dangerous situation that I got to see first hand several times.  Because walking along the beach was simply out of the question in street shoes, the BNSF Railway tracks became a public walkway.  Several people I saw come down the Christopherson Steps simply turned around and went home when they realized they were not dressed for walking in the water.  Many more simply climbed around the chain link fence that was installed to keep people from trespassing on the railway tracks.  Unfortunately it is easy to step around or crawl under as it is not an actual barrier.  At the end of Bayview St., the fence that Surrey installed last year to decrease rail trespassing actually increases it as people have no choice but to stay on the tracks until they reach the McBride Ave. crossing.  While I normally warn people about the dangers of passing trains, especially the Amtrak, I didn't bother since there was really not much choice.  In case residents here don't know, in 2021 Transport Canada raised the fine from $100 to $500 for those caught walking along the rail corridor.  You might want to keep this in mind if you like to storm watch as it makes for a rather expensive outing when you could be warm, cozy and dry in your home.

Naturally yours,

Don PItcairn 

I wish to acknowledge we live work and play on the traditional lands of the Semiahmoo People.