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Supermoon could team up with Hurricane Idalia to raise tides higher just as the storm makes landfall

FILE - A plane passes in front of a supermoon, July 13, 2022, in Milwaukee. A rare blue supermoon could normal raise tides just as Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida’s west coast, exacerbating flooding from the storm. The moon will be closest to the Earth on Wednesday night, Aug. 30, 2023, the same day Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
FILE - A plane passes in front of a supermoon, July 13, 2022, in Milwaukee. A rare blue supermoon could normal raise tides just as Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida’s west coast, exacerbating flooding from the storm. The moon will be closest to the Earth on Wednesday night, Aug. 30, 2023, the same day Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File) FILE - A plane passes in front of a supermoon, July 13, 2022, in Milwaukee. A rare blue supermoon could normal raise tides just as Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida’s west coast, exacerbating flooding from the storm. The moon will be closest to the Earth on Wednesday night, Aug. 30, 2023, the same day Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

By JEFF MARTIN / Associated Press 3 min read

A rare blue supermoon could raise tides above normal just as Hurricane Idalia lashes Florida’s west coast, exacerbating flooding from the storm.

The moon was closest to the Earth on Wednesday, the same day Idalia made landfall as a high-end Category 3 hurricane near Keaton Beach in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (200 kph).

While a supermoon can make for a spectacular backdrop in photos of landmarks around the world, its intensified gravitational pull also makes tides higher.

“I would say the timing is pretty bad for this one,” said Brian Haines, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina.

It’s expected to make tidal flooding worse not only in Florida, but in states such as Georgia and South Carolina, where Haines’ office has been warning residents that parts of Charleston could be under water by Wednesday night.