TheDailyMail.com
Tonight, skygazers around the world will be treated to a rare astronomical phenonmenon in the form of a Super Blue Moon.
The event will mark the point at which the moon is the biggest and brightest it’s been all year.
However, experts have warned that it could have dangerous repercussions here on Earth.
The supermoon could raise tides above normal – just as Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida‘s west coast.
‘I would say the timing is pretty bad for this one,’ said Brian Haines, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina.
The moon will be closest to the Earth at 21:35pm ET tonight – the same day Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida.
While a supermoon can make for a spectacular backdrop in photos of landmarks around the world, its intensified gravitational pull also makes tides higher.
It’s expected to make tidal flooding worse not only in Florida, but in states such as Georgia and South Carolina, where Haines’ office has been warning residents that parts of Charleston could be underwater by Wednesday night.
When the moon is full, the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction, which has the effect of increasing tides above normal ranges, according to Kerry Emanuel, professor emeritus of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The moon’s gravitational pulls are even stronger when it’s closer to Earth, so the tides are even higher.
The storm surge is often the greatest killer when hurricanes strike.