King tides flood Flagler Drive, with more high water forecast

West Palm Beach had already urged residents to prepare for seasonal king tides in an October 5 advisory. On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, that recurring coastal risk became a striking waterfront scene: floodwater covered Flagler Drive, leaving a dark-colored Corvette C8 partly submerged. The picture drew attention to one car, but the disruption extended to roads and low-lying neighborhoods across Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast. ^{29 1}

The immediate concern is how often that water could return. An official coastal outlook warns of elevated tides through the coming days, potentially remaining above minor-flood thresholds through the weekend. A separately reported estimate puts the broader king-tide period through November 12, but that exact endpoint has not been independently established from the available official forecast material. Neither forecast means roads will remain continuously underwater. ^{27 1}

For drivers, the distinction matters: a seasonal window is not a road-reopening schedule, and a predicted high-tide time is not proof that a particular route is safe. The instruction accompanying the local reporting was direct—avoid flooded roads and never drive through standing water. ¹

Photographs described in the CBS12 account show the Corvette along the West Palm Beach waterfront, with choppy water and a lineup of superyachts behind it. Water had reached the roadway where vehicles travel. Independent reporting by WPBF also documented the October 27 flooding on Flagler Drive. ^{1 8}

The car’s identification changed as the account developed. WPEC’s initial October 27 report called it a Lamborghini; the later account carried by WBFF on October 28 identified the photographed vehicle as a dark-colored Corvette C8. The Corvette identification supersedes the earlier description. These are two names applied to the same photographed car, not evidence that both a Lamborghini and a Corvette were submerged at that spot. An explicit correction notice has not been established. ^{4 1}

Farther south, flooding was reported near the Eau Resort & Spa in Manalapan. A Ferrari was also spotted on Ocean Boulevard near the Lantana Bridge. The account described it as apparently an 812 Superfast coupe, an identification that remains tentative. Those vehicle details come from a shared CBS12 account carried by WBFF and WCTI, rather than two independent investigations. ^{1 2}

The Ferrari sighting does not establish what happened afterward. Neither vehicle has a confirmed recovery outcome, verified repair bill or established operating condition in the available reporting. A photograph of a car in water can document its exposure; it cannot, by itself, diagnose mechanical damage. ^{1 4}

There are three different clocks in this story: the daily tide cycle, the weekly coastal-flood outlook and the broader seasonal period. Treating them as interchangeable would give drivers a false sense of precision.

West Palm Beach’s Tuesday high tides were forecast for approximately 10:55 a.m. and 10:59 p.m., local time. Those predicted peaks help explain why coastal routes could face repeated risk within one day. They do not establish when water actually peaked on Flagler Drive, how deep it became or whether either tide arrived at the predicted time. ^{1 2}

The South Florida Water Management District’s October 26 outlook covers October 26 through November 3. It warned that east-coast tidal levels could exceed moderate-flood thresholds, with some locations approaching major levels near the outlook’s release, and could remain above minor-flood thresholds through the weekend. These are broader coastal forecast categories—not measured flood levels for Flagler Drive. ²⁷

The November 12 estimate requires a separate qualification. The shared local account attributes that expected end of the king-tide period to the district. Available official seasonal material does not independently establish the exact date, and the weekly outlook’s coverage through November 3 does not verify it either. November 12 should therefore be read as a reported forecast endpoint, not a promise that every flooded location will clear then. ^{1 24 27}

Palm Beach County’s October newsletter also carried a district prediction that October 27 would bring the year’s highest coastal tide. That was a forecast of a seasonal peak, not confirmation that an observed annual record was set. ³⁰

City guidance offers useful context without supplying an all-clear: king tides can temporarily flood low-lying coastal places even without rain, and a higher-than-normal tide typically lasts about three hours. That general interval does not tell us how long this stretch of Flagler Drive remained inundated. ²⁵

The available reporting does not establish a formal closure list, closure boundaries or reopening times for this episode. That leaves an important gap between a regional forecast and a driver’s next turn. The practical response is not to test a flooded route with a vehicle: the photographed car is evidence that water reached the road, not a guide to what another car could get through. ^{8 1}