California is a magical place in the winter, the monarchs return to the state to overwinter, Santa Claus arrives on a surfboard, and twice in two months, the waves get very, very high. King Tides, the natural phenomenon that results when the gravitational pull of the sun, the moon, and Earth align, occur Dec. 4-5 and again on Jan. 2-3, 2026.

A soggy, blustery stretch is lining up for the Bay Area this week, with forecasters calling for rain to roll in by midweek and linger through the weekend, while unusually high "king tides" threaten to push water into low-lying coastal spots at high tide.

For visitors headed to the Cape Fear coast for the long Fourth of July holiday, be prepared for traffic, loud fireworks, hot and humid weather, and ... abnormally high tides. Yep. A confluence of the holiday calendar and celestial orbits will see the moon ...