Briar Ayloush stood on her flooded street by Huntington Harbour on Sunday morning and fretted. Will the even more dramatic high tides expected on Monday knock her dock off the pylons? Could it just float away?
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Her three young children, however, were quite happy to see their sidewalk become a pond. They frolicked in the water.
A 5-day coastal flood advisory went into effect in Southern California on Sunday morning, but few Orange County or Long Beach residents were found receiving a preview of what’s expected from the unusually high tides in the forecast, including some “near if not record-breaking” ones, according to the National Weather Service.
The peak high tide on Monday morning was forecast at 8 feet at 9:18 in San Pedro – which would smash a record for that area – 6.5 feet at 9:15 a.m. in Newport Beach; and 6.4 feet at 9:22 a.m. in Long Beach, but that doesn’t include other variables, including the warmth of the water, expected to push tides up even more, NWS meteorologists said.
The Balboa and Long Beach peninsulas, battered in previous weeks by monster waves, seemed void of intrusive deluges on Sunday, or any residents scurrying to get ready for more. And the waves didn’t look that high in Laguna Beach or San Pedro. Yet.
Brad Ross lives near Ayloush by Huntington Harbour. He removed his flip-flops to wade through the several inches of flooding on Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday.
“This is a high one,” he said. “This is the highest it’s ever been.”
Ross, who lives on the second floor of a triplex, was concerned the salt water could damage his car, so he moved it to a drier spot.
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“This is a good test,” he said, “for people to see what they need to do to prepare for more flooding.”
Siblings Bodhi Ayloush, 4, left, and Dusty, 2, play on their flooded sidewalk by Huntington Harbour on Sunday, October 25, 2026, while their mother, Briar Ayloush, keeps watch. Ayloush is concerned about that dock will come off the pylons and float away during upcoming high tides. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cars push through flooding on Seal Beach Blvd. near PCH on Sunday, October 25, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sand berms are in place near homes in Seal Beach on Sunday, October 25, 2026, as potentially damaging high tides are predicted for this week. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sand berms are in place near homes in Seal Beach on Sunday, October 25, 2026, as potentially damaging high tides are predicted for this week. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
City workers put up caution signs and pump water off residential streets by Huntington Harbour, including Bayview Drive, caused by the high tide on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Some residents say they fear the worst is coming. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cars push through flooding on Seal Beach Blvd. near PCH on Sunday, October 25, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bayview Drive by Huntington Harbour is affected by high tides on Sunday, October 25, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Brad Ross checks out the flooding along PCH in Huntington Beach on Sunday, October 25, 2026. “This is a good test for people to see what they need to do to prepare for more flooding,” he said. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Residents along PCH by Huntington Harbour on Sunday, October 25, 2026, keep watch and prepare for potentially damaging high tides predicted for this week. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Waves continue to crash into damaged homes on the Peninsula during high tide on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Dredging to replace sand on the beach near the battered boardwalk continues as people stroll along the Peninsula on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Work continues to reenforce the berm along the Peninsula on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
A dredging project to rebuild the beach continues along the Peninsula on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Berm reenforcement and dredging to replace sand along the Peninsula continues on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
High surf continues along the Peninsula during high tide on Sunday morning, Oct. 25, 2026, in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
In Seal Beach, Yogi, a chocolate labradoodle, knew something was off. The dog barked at the water filling Seal Beach Boulevard near Pacific Coast Highway as he jumped around in his front yard.
His owner, Bruce Baral, said flooding routinely happens across their street near a drainage canal to the ocean, but he has never seen it like this, he said, with the flood crossing several traffic lanes to his side.
On Balboa Island, sandbags lined the top of the well along the pedestrian path on Bay Front. Large puddles of water covered portions of the walkway along the Grand Canal, but visitors and residents were undaunted, enjoying the warm weather like on any normal Sunday. No obvious signs of any active preparations were noticeable.
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A similar vibe was apparent on the Balboa Peninsula, where beachgoers went on with their day as usual, walking around the large berms built to protect nearby streets.
But Sunday’s high tide peaked at 8 feet, about 1.8 feet above the predicted levels, Newport Beach police announced via its public safety and emergency alert system. City crews have continued operating pumps, filling and positioning sandbags and monitoring conditions in low-lying areas.
Along the Peninsula in Long Beach, medium-sized waves could be seen smacking the previously damaged homes on Seaside Way. Seven homes have been red-tagged and two yellow-tagged since Tropical Storm Rachel, according to city officials.
City crews in Long Beach also were continuing to build sand berms on Sunday morning, as well as working on the Alamitos Bay Dredging Project. The $11.4 million project started Oct. 20.
The coastal flood advisory was set to run until 1 p.m. Thursday, with tides between 7.5 and 8 feet foreseen, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters said the tides are expected to surpass the record of 7.93 feet set in San Pedro on Jan. 10, 2005. Records go back to 1924.
The weather is expected to be mild in the next several days, with daytime highs in the mid- to upper 70s. But later in the week, there will be a growing potential for a significant storm system to develop.
“The pattern will start to change around Thursday, with onshore flow returning, temperatures dropping, and low pressure forming over the West Coast. This will open the storm window over California, with a growing chance of a significant storm impacting the local area as early as Friday but more so for the weekend,” the NWS said.
Forecasters say there is a 90% chance of rain between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, with Halloween activities likely to be affected.
Long Beach, OC coastal towns eke out a day of bliss before ‘all-time’ high tides – and likely flooding – return
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