King tides and Hurricane “Dorian” posing big concern for coastal Florida ahead of Labor Day weekend

Residents living in coastal areas across South Florida fear Hurricane "Dorian" will be hitting the state during a king tides cycle.

The National Weather Service warned Thursday, August 30 that this king tide, the second of four expected for the east coast this season, could cause minor tidal inundation during high tide this weekend. 

Although the peak of this king tide is expected on Sunday’s noon high tide, residents in low-lying Miami Beach were already reporting flooded streets on Wednesday and Thursday, August 29 and 30.

Dorian reached major hurricane strength on August 30, after rapidly intensifying from Category 2 to Category 4 hurricane in just over 9 hours.

This is an extremely dangerous hurricane forecast to track across the Bahamas this weekend and potentially make landfall over eastern Florida early next week. The storm will bring risks of life-threatening storm surge, devastating hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and flooding.

"It is imperative that all Floridians and their families take Hurricane 'Dorian' seriously," said Governor DeSantis. "The time to prepare diminishes by the hour, particularly because we are still uncertain of where it will make landfall. Everyone should have seven days of food, water and medicine in preparation for this storm. Additionally, all residents need to be prepared to evacuate, should that be required."

Featured image credit: NOAA/GOES-East