Experts say although Tuesday's king tide flooding was made worse by low pressure, these conditions could become more common as sea levels rise. The king tide, plus a low-pressure system, caused flooding along the Central and South Sound. King tides are the highest tides of the year, which usually come in December and January. Curt Hart with the state’s Department of Ecology said king tides have increased about 9 inches over the past century.  They expect king tides and sea levels to increase even more in the future. This is why they say communities along Puget Sound and the coast need to prepare. “The water was above the boardwalk. Actually, the boats were higher than the boardwalk,” said Dan Merscher, who works at Budd Bay Café on the boardwalk in Olympia. “Water started coming in the back door here and through the walls.” He said this was not expected. "I have been around this area for 37 years and I have never seen anything like this,” said Merscher. On Tuesday, water covered their parking lot, but Wednesday things were drying out both outside and inside. “As with all water damage, we're going to have to kind of wait and see what the extent of things are and kind of plan for the future,” said Merscher. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/higher-king-tides-sea-levels-rising-climate-change/281-8b7fc495-e3af-4010-af8a-8e449c308a4e