Predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are that king tides (above 6.5’) will return from December 28 through January 4, peaking at 7 feet or more on January 1 through January 3. Currently, the forecast is for dry skies during that period, but if storms do arrive, tidal surges can occur, causing higher than predicted water levels.
King tides will return again on January 28 and continue through February 2. Check the tide widget to the right of this post (or below it on mobile devices) for the approximate times of these tides, which tend to peak in the mornings, and about 50 minutes later each day. Click on the plus sign in the upper left corner of the tide window to advance the calendar a day at a time, then click and drag the circle with crosshairs to the peak of the graph to see the time of highest water each day.
Drew Peterson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, points out that king tides always happen at this time of year “because the moon and the earth are at their closest and we are at maximum gravitational tidal forces.”