FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Residents woke up to much of their residential neighborhoods flooded by king tides across South Florida, and despite the water receding through the afternoon hours, by nightfall the water was rolling back into the neighborhood.
King tides are typical this time of year, but when accompanied by a full moon, the water’s gravitational pull on the ocean is amplified, which leads to coastal flooding.
The forecast calls for king tides to be in the area for a few days. Residents who live by the water said they are used to seeing their streets flooded around this time of year.
7News cameras captured Julie keeping a close eye on the king tides outside her Fort Lauderdale home on Tuesday night.
“I get a kick out of watching it come in and see how high it goes,” she said. “It’s coming up through the grass and eventually will come over the seawall.”
It is the second time in one day that residents dealt with the flooding.
Lynette Coleman lives in Victoria Park, east Fort Lauderdale. She said Tuesday’s morning flooding is one of the worst she’s seen.
“It is really driven by the king tides, but this is unprecedented. It comes right up here, you can see the tide line,” she said. “Sometimes it’s worse where you cannot see the difference between this river and this street.”
Water began to swarm the streets of a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood near Northeast Seventh Street and 20th Avenue, Tuesday morning, reaching heights of nearly three feet.
“I love my location, apartment, everything is good, so I’m not complaining, but I gotta get boots,” said area resident Carol.
These king tides are pushing salty seawater into South Florida streets, leaving roads in low-lying areas inundated.
7Skyforce hovered over several flooded neighborhoods, on Tuesday morning, capturing drivers slowly crawling through the waters.
In one neighborhood in Miami and another along the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood, some streets were covered by water. In another Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, cars and boats looked like they were parked in water.
These king tides have arrived with no rain added to the mix. Coleman said she worries how neighborhoods will look if a storm makes landfall.
“This is my problem with it. I’m a native. Can you imagine having a storm surge with rain and wind driving this? It’s scary. It’s quite scary. It’s distributing,” she said. “I can’t come and go when this happens. It is detrimental to people who have walkers.”
The next high tide is set for 9:39 a.m. in Fort Lauderdale, 10:08 a.m. in Miami and 11:47 a.m. in Key West, Wednesday morning. King tides are also expected to return later in October.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.