Images, Video and Tales from Oregon Coast / Washington King Tides

Published 12/16/24 at 7:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Depoe Bay, Oregon) – As Roxy Music put it in the early '70s, “It's a crazy scene.”

That could've well applied to king tides this weekend on the Oregon and Washington coastlines, with wave height hitting 20 – 23 feet at times, major breakers action at Shore Acres and a run-in with flooding in various areas.

The whole weekend produced dramatic video and photos – as well as tales. Not everyone was on their best behavior, either. Some ventured too close to the chaos, but so far there have been no reports of injuries.

Oregon King Tides Project has not yet posted the submissions from the December round of king tides, but the group's spokesman, Rhiannon Bezore, was able to pass on a few. Among them, this shot at the top of gargantuan waves at the north jetty of Tillamook Bay at Barview from CL Downing.

“The combination of the extreme high tides and large storm swell meant a lot of onshore impacts this past weekend,” Bezore told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “ There was significant flooding in Nehalem, with people kayaking in the streets at high tide, and many reports of limited beach access from high water, including at Nelscott Beach in Lincoln City.”

See wild 'n frothy video from the Washington coast.

Among the hotspots was Shore Acres State Park near Coos Bay. There were some posted online from this weekend, showing towers of water over the diagonal-lined cliffs. Then from the November round of king tides comes this one from the project and Holly Harlukowicz.

This as yet unnamed slough was photographed by Sue Solin and hasn't yet made the Oregon King Tides Project site.

One of the most dramatic moments came from the flooding at Nehalem, with Buttercup Ice Cream and Chowders showing off video of an employee having to kayak the streets of the north coast town.

According to Nan Devlin, executive director of Tillamook Coast Visitors Association, that deluge has finally receded.

“It started on Friday in Nehalem with a bit of flooding then Saturday full-on flood, with people getting to work in downtown by kayak,” Devlin told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “It's all backed off now. Next King Tides are mid-January. They are usually the worst.”

Oregon King Tides Project provided this video of the Depoe Bay seawall.

The group's Larry Gooldy snagged this impressive shot of the spouting horn at Depoe Bay during the last round in November.

Lincoln City's SW 32 St access was deluged and smacked hard by big waves this weekend, and luckily no one was injured or hit.

The King Tides Project Flickr page shows the injuries suffered by one man who got swatted by a wave and dragged for a bit last month.

This weekend started off a bit rough, with the National Weather Service pointing out a couple of people right up against the seawall at the Experience Westport webcam, just as a huge wave washes over. There were no reports there of injuries.

Again, not everyone was being as wise as they should be, but incidents – so far appear to be less this time around.

Still, Bezore urges extreme caution at these events.

“As always, we emphasize that safety precautions should be followed at all times when visiting the beach, especially during king tide events,” Bezore said. “Storm surge, high tides, and sneaker waves are all very dangerous, with fast moving, powerful water posing risks for anyone on or near the coast. It is important to respect all safety signage and beach and road closures; remain a safe distance from the ocean; don’t turn your back on the water; and stay off of logs, jetties, narrow beaches, and away from cliff edges.”

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