Coastal Flood — Southeast Coastal St. Johns County, Florida
2025-10-09 to 2025-10-12 · Southeast Coastal St. Johns County, Florida
Event narrative
On 10/9 at 12:57 pm, tidal flooding from the Maria Sanchez Lake inundated the intersection of Cordova Street and St. Francis Street. The nearest tide gauge station at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina (SMFF1) reached a peak water level of 2.15 ft MHHW at high tide which was around 10:47 am that morning. Minor flooding begins at 1.6 ft at this station and moderate flooding impacts begin at 2.5 ft MHHW.
On 10/10 at 11:25 am, the Bridge of Lions was closed due to tidal flooding impacts along North St. Augustine Blvd and Anastasia Blvd. The City of St. Augustine reported that multiple streets including Riberia St, Bridge St, South St, King St, and Cordova St were closed due to flooding during this coastal flooding event. The seawall north of Castillo de San Marcos was overtopped and the seawall at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina was nearly breached. At 12:01 pm, the public reported tidal flooding from Maria Sanchez Lake inundated the intersection of Cordova Street and St. Francis Street. Flood water reached up to ankle depth on the nearby sidewalk and a low clearance vehicle had water intrusion. At 12:03 pm, the nearby tide gauge at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina peaked at 2.97 ft MHHW, which was within moderate tidal flooding levels at this location. Major flood stage begins at 3.7 ft MHHW at this location. At 12:30 pm, the Mizell Outfall (MIZF1) tide gauge on the Matanzas River on Anastasia Island reached 4.06 ft MHHW at high tide. Moderate flooding impacts begin at 4 ft at this location and major flooding impacts begin at 5 ft. At 12:30 pm, the public reported that King Street at the San Sebastian River had tidal flooding inundation across it.
At 12:40 pm on 10/11, the tide station at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina peaked at 3.00 ft MHHW at high tide. Major flooding begins at 3.7 ft MHHW at this location. At 12:50 pm, the public shared photos via social media of stalled vehicles submerged in floodwaters along Cordova Street at the intersections of St. Francis Street and Bridge St along the north end of Maria Sanchez Lake. At 1:30 pm on 10/11, the tide station at Mizell Outfall on the Matanzas River on Anastasia Island reached 4.20 ft MHHW at high tide. Moderate flooding impacts begin at 4 ft at this location and major begin at 5 ft. Flooding occurred in the Davis Shores neighborhood with floodwaters inundating people's garages and yards and flooding multiple roads including Coquina Ave, Dolphin Dr, Arricola Dr and Oglethorpe Blvd.
Down the coast at the Matanzas Inlet Bridge, on 10/10 around 11 am, the tide gauge peaked at 3.22 ft MHHW. Moderate flood impacts begin at 3.5 ft MHHW at this location and major impacts begin at 5 ft. On 10/11 at 10:38 am, the Matanzas River Inlet tide gauge peaked at 4.10 ft MHHW near high tide. Several businesses between CR-206 and Matanzas Inlet reported water flooding their docks, entering their warehouses and businesses up to the base boards but did not reach nearby A1A. On the Atlantic side, water reached up to the base of the dunes but did not breach the dune.
Peak wind gusts for this nor'easter event impacted the southeast portion of the St. Johns county coast during the evening of 10/9 through the early morning hours of 10/10, with peak gusts of 40-45 mph measured along the coast between 8 pm through the pre-dawn hours of 10/10. A 44-mph wind gust was measured at the SAUF1 St. Augustine C-Man station at 1:35 am on 10/10. At 1:40 am on 10/10, the St. Johns County Fire Station 2 miles SSE of South Ponte Vedra Beach measured a wind gust of 44 mph. Gusty winds generally below 40 mph continued into 10/11, with a peak gust on 10/11 at 9 am of 40 mph measured by the St. Augustine C-man site.
Wider weather episode
An extended duration local nor'easter wind event developed October 9th and persisted through the 12th between high pressure wedging down the SE US coast and a sharpening coastal trough axis over the local coastal waters. Gusty winds of 40-51 mph impacted coastal areas, with the strongest winds from 10/9 in the afternoon through 10/10 in the evening along the Duval county coast of 51 mph. Tidal flooding reached moderate levels along the coast, Intracoastal Waterway and inland within the St. Johns River and its tributaries 10/10 through 10/12. This inundation flooded roads and surrounded some vulnerable homes with flood water around high tides. Waves of showers moved onshore with localized flooding rainfall.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1293375. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.