High Water Season Events

Our Coastal Flooding Community Science project aims to answer the questions, "what weather and water level conditions are associated with coastal flooding in our community?” and “what areas of our shoreline are most vulnerable and critical to our community?”

About twice a year, the movements of the earth, sun, and moon align to create larger-than-normal tidal ranges across Maine’s coasts, resulting in a “high water season.” The highest tides in these periods often overtop coastal infrastructure, providing a critical opportunity to build our understanding of flood impacts in coastal communities. This project supports the collection of water level and weather data that helps towns, emergency management, and homeowners prepare for future storms and scenarios of sea level rise.

You can join events across the Maine coast during the high water season to contribute photographic data and your own perspectives to our database, learn how community-collected data informs long-term planning and near-term emergency preparedness, and connect with other community scientists tracking coastal change around the Gulf of Maine.

Coastal Meet-Ups

Each high water season, during extreme high tides, GMRI and project partners hold Coastal Meet-Ups at various locations along our coasts. These are opportunities to learn about sea level rise and coastal flooding, get trained on the data collection protocol, and connect with other community members interested in documenting the impacts of sea level rise. Keep tabs on the GMRI events page for these group data collection opportunities, programmed during each high water season!

Late Night High Tide Events

Every year, some of the highest tides fall during the middle of the night, so it takes a little extra creativity to witness flooding and collect data during these events. Over the past years, here are some of the ways we’ve worked to make high tide flooding visible through art and partnership.

Dip After Dark with Two Maine Mermaids

In summer 2026, GMRI partnered with the Two Maine Mermaids to hold an evening exploring the science of sea level rise and coastal flooding, learning how to submit flood data, and taking an ocean plunge at a local beach at the moment of an extreme high tide. Read GMRI intern Ava Natalino and Resilience Corps fellow Emma Barker’s account of the evening here.

Midnight Flooding: Art from the Edge

In spring 2025, artists and community scientists came together for a midnight pop-up event on the Portland Pier as it flooded, shedding light on the often-invisible impacts of rising seas. The exhibition included large-format painted pieces, sculpture, and live performance art, all created by Maine artists reckoning with the impacts of rising seas.

Expert Conversations

Across Maine, scientists, community members, municipal leaders, flood forecasters, and others are building a network of understanding around the impacts of sea level rise and coastal flooding on our communities. Virtual and in-person conversations with people doing science, adapting coastal spaces, and making decisions give a window into how Maine is collaboratively preparing for rising waters. In the past, we’ve heard from:

• Coastal scientists on their work to install tide gauges and model future scenarios of coastal flooding
• Municipal planners on how they integrate flood forecasting and future sea level rise scenarios into their work to build more resilient communities
• Climate service providers on how building local knowledge can help inform community-driven planning processes

Keep an eye on the GMRI events page for new opportunities to hear from scientists, community leaders, planners, and other coastal stakeholders!