Pinellas County officials are warning residents to watch for king tide flooding this weekend, cautioning drivers not to travel through flooded roads as extreme high tides are expected to impact coastal areas.
A king tide is an extreme high tide that occurs during a full moon or new moon.
WATCH: 'It looks very extreme': Locals react to king tide as Pinellas County warns of coastal flooding dangers
"Basically, you just have the earth, the moon, and the sun in perfect alignment, and that exacerbates the tides we already see," Tampa Bay 28 meteorologist Jason Adams said.
Adams said whether flooding occurs depends on water levels.
"It ultimately just depends on if the tide gets above three feet. The projections are up to around three to three-and-a-half feet, which would cause the rise of a couple of inches in the streets or low-lying parking lots," Adams said.
Adams said this has happened before in St. Petersburg. When tides rise above three feet, he said saltwater can get into the storm drains and cause flooding.
"When the storm drains fill up, you're not draining water anymore, you're filling them up so they bubble up out of the storm drains or the manholes, and that's where we get the street flooding on a blue sky sunny day. And that's what the king tide does. It brings in saltwater into places that usually isn't there because our tides keep that water level lower," Adams said.
Ivan Gruber, a kayak rental manager at Sail Honeymoon Inc. on the Dunedin Causeway, said the king tide is already making itself known.
"It looks very extreme where that boater is right now. That in about maybe four hours is going to be completely dry," Gruber said.
Gruber warned visitors to the causeway to adjust where they park.
"With the incoming tide, all the parking lot here on the causeway, you're going to have to make sure that you park at least six feet back from where you would normally park because it's going to be flooding a little bit onto the roadways and stuff like that here on the dirt paths," Gruber said.
Officials warn drivers not to travel through saltwater flooding, as it can damage vehicles.
The risks on the water extend beyond high tides. Low tides can also create dangerous conditions for kayakers and boaters. Gruber said low tides have led to rescues in the area.
"We've seen a lot of people get swept out into the Gulf unfortunately, the Coast Guard has to go out there and rescue them," Gruber said.
Palm Harbor resident Jim York, a seasoned boater, said he has seen many people get stranded because of tidal swings.
"There's a lot of boats up on Caladesi Island that look like they might not know about the tides, and they might get stuck up there, and it's, it's a 12 hour swing," York said.
York said the reason to pay attention to tides is simple: "Safety. You get out of the boat, and you run aground."
For all the latest tide updates, visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's website here.
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