It’s a scenario that happens once in a blue moon. Perhaps it would be better put, once in a blue supermoon. As Hurricane Idalia makes landfall, the supermoon will likely make the storm surge more intense.

With the supermoon alone, some tides are expected to be a foot higher than normal. Supermoons bring the highest tides, as the moon is at perigee, the closest point to Earth.

Add a Category 3 hurricane to the mix, and tides could be exceptionally strong. OzarksFirst Meteorologist Jamie Warriner says the storm surge is a concern for the Big Bend area of Florida, “At this stage, the storm surge is expected to be 10-15′. Locally it could even be higher than that.”

“The other impact, because of the shape of the coastline in that area also helps to funnel and enhance the storm surge with the particular track it’s taking,” explains Warriner.

The higher tides, also known as king tides, occur during new moons and full moons when the gravitational pull is highest from the sun and moon pulling in the same direction on earth.

The combination of Idalia’s dangerous storm surge partnered with the king tides, people living and visiting along the Florida coast should stay alert for beach erosion and coastal flooding.