The National Weather Service (NWS) office in San Francisco issued a Coastal Flood Advisory that took effect at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4, and runs until 1 p.m. PST on Monday, November 9, covering San Francisco and, in the same advisory package, the Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast. The advisory, issued at 12:33 a.m. PST on November 4, warns of up to 1.6 feet of inundation above ground level in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways, driven by the current cycle of exceptionally high astronomical tides — king tides — enhanced by up to 1.2 feet of surge. Weather.com's San Francisco alert listing carried the same two products on Wednesday: a minor Coastal Flood Advisory until Monday 1 p.m. PST and a moderate Beach Hazard Statement from Thursday 5 a.m. until Saturday 7 p.m. PST.
The tide table, day by day
The NWS published the expected morning high tides at the San Francisco tidal gauge for the whole advisory window. Wednesday, November 4: 6.8 feet MLLW at 8:00 a.m., 1.0 foot above normal. Thursday, November 5: 7.1 feet at 8:35 a.m., 1.3 feet above normal. Friday, November 6: 7.2 feet at 9:08 a.m., 1.4 feet above normal. Saturday, November 7: 7.4 feet at 9:38 a.m., 1.6 feet above normal. Sunday, November 8: 7.4 feet at 10:06 a.m., again 1.6 feet above normal. And Monday, November 9: 7.4 feet at 10:35 a.m., 1.6 feet above normal, as the advisory expires at 1 p.m. The predictions include up to 1.2 feet of surge that will enhance the astronomical tide and flooding threat, the weather service said, and high tide can arrive up to 90 minutes earlier or later along the Pacific Coast and through San Francisco Bay respectively — which is why flooding can appear well away from the gauge's exact timing.
What the water does when it comes over
The impacts the NWS lists are specific: high tides will result in flooding of low-lying infrastructure, isolated road closures, and coastal erosion. Rising tides will bring water and waves farther up the beach than normal, restricting escape from beaches and coastal areas. The beach hazard is the sharper danger: an increased risk for sneaker waves and strong rip currents, with breaking waves of 12 to 16 feet expected. 'Waves can sweep across the shoreline without warning, pulling people into the sea from beaches, jetties, and rocks,' the weather service warned — the classic king-tide-season accident pattern on the Northern California coast, where a wave larger than its predecessors arrives after a lull and catches people standing on rocks or turned seaward for photographs.
If travel is required, allow extra time as some roads may be closed. Do not drive around barricades or through water of unknown depth. Take the necessary actions to protect flood-prone property. Stay off jetties, piers, rocks and other waterside infrastructure. Remain out of the water to avoid hazardous surf, and never turn your back on the ocean. Monitor local weather, surf and tide forecasts at weather.gov/mtr, the NWS San Francisco office's page.
Background: what king tides are, and why this week
King tides are the highest astronomical tides of the year, occurring when the sun, moon and Earth align so their gravitational pulls reinforce, around new and full moons in the late-autumn and winter months. They are not caused by storms, which is why this advisory runs under largely fair skies: the water rise is predictable to the minute, and the flooding arrives on schedule at each morning's high tide rather than with rain. Coastal agencies across California treat king-tide weeks as a preview of ordinary future sea levels — the shoreline flooding that today needs an exceptional tide is a glimpse of what routine high tides will do as seas rise — and they use these weeks to photograph and document exactly which roads, paths and properties flood first. Awaaz Punjab covered the previous king-tide cycle in late October; this advisory is the November cycle, with its own dates, gauge numbers and hazard window.
Who needs to plan around it locally
For Bay Area residents — including the large Punjabi and South Asian communities of the East Bay, South Bay and the Peninsula — the practical exposure is the morning commute and the weekend shoreline. The highest water arrives mid-morning from Saturday through Monday, the days when families visit beaches along the San Francisco coast and the Monterey Bay shoreline, and when low-lying shore roads and parking areas are busiest. Drivers on coastal routes, including Highway 1 along the Big Sur Coast zone covered by the same advisory, should expect isolated closures at high tide and should never drive through standing salt water of unknown depth: it hides eroded pavement and can stall a vehicle in a rising tide. Truckers running early deliveries to coastal businesses face the same barricade rule — a closed shore road at 9:38 a.m. on Saturday is a routing problem, not a challenge.
What happens next
The advisory runs its course with the tide cycle: water levels peak at the Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning high tides (7.4 feet at the San Francisco gauge) and the Coastal Flood Advisory expires at 1 p.m. PST on Monday, November 9, while the Beach Hazards Statement ends earlier, at 7 p.m. PST on Saturday, November 7. The NWS San Francisco office will update or extend the products if surge forecasts change. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if the weather service upgrades the advisory to a Coastal Flood Warning, reports specific road closures, or extends the window into the following week.
Source: NWS San Francisco advisory text via StormStation247 alert KMTR-CF-Y-0015 (Nov. 4, 2026)