We woke up this morning to an ocean overlapping the sea wall. For the first time ever, we saw a water line well above the usual high tide mark. The water was creating slushy pools in the grass and flower beds. This was certainly not a high tide, nor even a leap tide. We found out that it's called a king tide - which is apparently a very unusual phenomenon.
We took a walk down to St. George's - to find the town square drowning in water. Restaurant coffee tables were 4 inches under water and you would have needed wellies to wade through the tide to sit down and have a relaxing morning coffee. Some people had some fun later by bringing their little sailboat into the square and actually sailing it - to much laughter from the crowd.
The phenomenon has been a four day wonder - the talk of the town, and quite a few articles in the local newspaper. L.F. Wade Airport long-term parking lot was so far under water that they undertook to move cars with a forklift (glad it wasn't mine) - this after asking people to remove their cars because the salt water would be a hazard for the engines. I guess nobody thought about the fact that long-term parking at the airport meant that the person was unlikely to come to the airport anytime soon. Certainly a surprise encounter on their return though!
Ruth Curry, physical oceanographer at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, said that two factors were responsible for the high water that submerged low-lying portions of the island over the weekend, including King’s Square in St George. Ms Curry said the recent full moon, coupled with a warm ocean eddy passing Bermuda, was to blame. She added: “This is no a consequence of global warming, but is a very unususal phenomenon.”
Another interesting event in Bermuda.
