Historic king tides overwhelm south Florida

It looked like hurricane flooding. But there wasn't a hurricane anywhere near south Florida. Historic king tides sent saltwater spilling over seawalls, flooding neighborhoods and forcing the closure of Fort Lauderdale's Las Olas Bridge.

Water levels reached heights comparable to those recorded during some past hurricanes, leaving even longtime residents stunned by the extent of the flooding.

Florida Storms meteorologist Leslie Hudson takes us to the heart of Fort Lauderdale, where an extraordinary collision of tides, wind and rising seas pushed the water into places it had never reached before.

The flooding was intensified by persistent onshore winds that pushed additional seawater against the coast during exceptionally high astronomical tides.

And while king tides are a natural occurrence, scientists warn that rising sea levels are making coastal flooding more frequent and increasingly difficult to manage. The event also highlighted the challenges facing South Florida's aging drainage systems, which can allow seawater to flow backward into streets when tides become exceptionally high.