Ballast Point Tides Today
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Ballast Point runs a mean tidal range of about 1.9 ft. This month the highest water, 3.5 ft, comes on the morning of Oct 29, and the lowest, a -0.4 ft minus tide, on the morning of Oct 28.
| High tide | 5:22 AM | 3.2 ft |
| Low tide | 1:56 PM | 0.0 ft |
Today on the water at Ballast Point
Today at Ballast Point: high tide at 5:22 AM (3.2 ft), low tide at 1:56 PM (0.0 ft). The National Weather Service forecast for today is partly sunny then slight chance showers and thunderstorms with E winds 12 to 15 mph, 85°F. Wind that strong can hold water in or push it out, so the real tide may run above or below these predictions. Sunrise is at 7:39 AM and sunset at 6:47 PM.
| Period | Forecast | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Partly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms | E 12 to 15 mph | 85°F |
| Tonight | Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Mostly Cloudy | ENE 13 to 16 mph | 73°F |
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Ballast Point is
Ballast Point sits at 27.8900° N, 82.4800° W on Florida's Gulf coast, at Tampa, FL. The station here is a historical NOAA reference station: a gauge measured the tide at this spot from 1975 until 1996, and NOAA still publishes harmonic predictions from that record. There is no live reading here today. The closest gauge measuring live water level is East Bay, Tampa Bay (NOAA 8726674), 4.2 mi away, and the tide here runs on nearly the same clock. The nearest weather station is Tampa, Peter O Knight Airport, an airport reporting wind, visibility and sky cover, but no water temperature, 2.6 mi away.
The tide at Ballast Point
Ballast Point has a mixed tide: two highs and two lows a day, but of unequal size, so one low each day drains a little lower than the other. This month's predictions average 1.7 high tides a day here. The mean range from lower low to higher high is 2.7 ft, and 2.0 ft between the average high and the average low, a moderate tide. On an average day the higher high tops the lower high by 0.3 ft and the lower low sits 0.4 ft below the other low. For the water around it: Florida's Gulf coast runs mixed tides: two unequal highs a day near Tampa Bay, trending toward one high a day along the Big Bend and the Panhandle.
About this station
- High tide reaches Ballast Point about 7.3 hours after the moon passes overhead. That lag is local, which is why high water does not line up with the moon.
Datum and source
Heights on this page are feet above mean lower low water (MLLW), the zero NOAA's nautical charts use for soundings. A predicted 0.0 ft low is the average of the lower low each day; a minus tide is water below chart datum, and a 2 ft high means 2 ft more water than the chart shows. NOAA fixes MLLW at Ballast Point from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 2.7 ft above it and mean sea level 1.5 ft. The land survey datum NAVD88, the zero on topographic maps and flood maps, is 1.8 ft above MLLW here, so a water level on this page converts to NAVD88 by subtracting that amount. These datums are controlled from NOAA's St. Petersburg, FL gauge. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 8726639, established 1975, gauge removed 1996. The tide times and heights are NOAA's official harmonic predictions for this station; TidalMap republishes them daily and does not alter them.
Tide stations near Ballast Point
- Davis Island, Hillsborough Bay: 2.1 mi, tides about 6 min later
- Tampa, Hooker Point, Hillsborough Bay: 2.9 mi, tides about 9 min earlier
- Gandy Bridge, Old Tampa Bay: 3.6 mi, tides about 47 min later
- East Bay, Tampa Bay: 4.2 mi, tides at about the same time
- Twenty-Second Street Causeway: 4.5 mi, tides about 5 min earlier
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Ballast Point this month: Oct 1, Oct 2, Oct 3, Oct 27, Oct 28, Oct 29, Oct 30, Oct 31. These spring highs push water up into the grass and over the oyster rock; prime for poling into flooded marsh for tailing reds.
🔻 Negative (minus) low tides at Ballast Point this month: Oct 26, Oct 27, Oct 28, Oct 29, Oct 30. These drain the flats and expose the oyster rock, prime for sight-fishing and clamming.
Best fishing times (solunar)
Major and minor solunar windows for Ballast Point, peak feeding activity is around the moon overhead/underfoot (majors) and moonrise/moonset (minors). Score is the day's activity coefficient (0–100).
| Day | Major windows | Minor windows | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today 🌖 | 5:09–7:09 AM 5:34–7:34 PM | — 12:24–2:24 PM | 55 |
| Sun Nov 1 🌗 | 6:10–8:10 AM 6:35–8:35 PM | 11:01–1:01 AM 1:11–3:11 PM | 42 |
| Mon Nov 2 🌗 | 7:05–9:05 AM 7:30–9:30 PM | 12:10–2:10 AM 1:53–3:53 PM | 33 |
| Tue Nov 3 🌗 | 7:57–9:57 AM 8:22–10:22 PM | 1:17–3:17 AM 2:29–4:29 PM | 47 |
| Wed Nov 4 🌗 | 8:45–10:45 AM 9:10–11:10 PM | 2:20–4:20 AM 3:02–5:02 PM | 60 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 9:30–11:30 AM 9:55–11:55 PM | 3:21–5:21 AM 3:33–5:33 PM | 73 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 10:15–12:15 PM 10:40–12:40 AM | 4:20–6:20 AM 4:04–6:04 PM | 83 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 8726639. Solunar windows computed from the moon's position for this location. Times shown in the station's local time. Not for navigation.
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