A SUPERMOON caused high tides across Gwent this weekend.

The phenomenon occurs when the moon passes very close to the earth, as opposed to its normally more distant orbit.

When earth’s biggest satellite is so much closer to the oceans, its gravitational pull exerts more of an effect and draws more water towards it.

Natural Resources Wales issued a flood warning for the Usk estuary, saying high tide at Newport was expected to reach 7.4 metres at about 8pm on Saturday evening, a level it also reached on Saturday morning. They said the alert would remain in place until at least Sunday’s morning high tide and may extend until Monday morning.

Tide alerts were also issued for Chepstow, which was set to have a high tide 25 minutes later than Newport’s highest water level.

And road closures were planned for the A466 through Tintern at the Trelleck Road junction and the Royal George Junction over the weekend, with the highest tide forecast for Saturday night, between 8.30pm and 9.10pm, when water was expected to flow over the highway.

Meteorologist Jonathan Powell explained: “The earth was at its closest possible to the moon on Thursday and that does have a direct effect on tides right across the globe.

“If you can imagine a circle of water around the earth, it’s more of an ellipse shape really. The moon drives tides by allowing it to be pulled forward.

“If you happen to have a range which is already high and has been known to cause surges, it would tend to push it particularly high.

“But it’s a beautiful spring weekend so I don’t anticipate weather contributing to any problems.”

As well as being able to watch the supermoon, skylovers had a treat with the solar eclipse on Friday, the most total eclipse since 1999.