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You are at NWS Houston/Galveston »
Research Projects »
Tropical Storm Frances (1998) » Tidal Effects
Tropical Storm Frances
Tidal Effects
Tides....
Most of the damage along the coastal communities can be attributed to the high tides that persisted for nearly two days. The high tides
in Galveston Bay also enhanced the flooding problems experienced further inland by the heavy rains. A Coastal Flood Watch was issued
Monday night concerning the possibility of high tides beginning on Tuesday with tides expected to run 3 feet above predicted levels.
On Tuesday afternoon the Coastal Flood Watch was updated to extend the watch into Wednesday with tides predicted to be 3 to 4 feet
above predicted levels by Wednesday afternoon. At 4pm Tuesday Tropical Depression #6 formed in the Gulf of Mexico and a Tropical
Storm Warning was issued for the Texas Coast from High Island to Brownsville. The Tropical Storm Warning implies that a Coastal Flood
Warning is also in effect. On Wednesday the tide forecast was updated with a forecast of tides 4 to 5 feet above predicted levels expected
on Thursday. On Thursday the tide prediction for Friday called for tides increasing to levels of 4 to 6 feet above the predicted levels.
On the beach front at Galveston Pleasure Pier the tides rose above 4 feet above MLLW on Wednesday afternoon (Sept 9) and remained
above this level until the Friday afternoon (Sept. 11). The maximum level was reached on Thursday evening when the gauge read around 7 feet
above MLLW or about 4.5 feet above the predicted levels. In Galveston Bay a similar event took place. At Eagle Point the tides rose above 4 feet
above MLLW on Wednesday evening (September 9) and stayed above this level until after midnight on September 12. The peak height reached
was around 5.7 feet above MLLW during the early morning hours of September 10 which is 4.7 feet above the predicted levels.
Similar conditions were found along the entire upper Texas Coast from High Island to Matagorda and in the inland bays. With tides above
4 feet MLLW for 36 to 48 consecutive hours and winds in excess of 25 mph through the same period led to the destructive waves along the beach front.
These destructive waves resulted in most of the dune systems from High Island to Sargent Texas being almost completely destroyed.
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