Bellingham Tides Today
Open this station in TidalMapLive water level, free for 7 days
Bellingham runs a mean tidal range of about 5.8 ft. This month the highest water, 9.7 ft, comes on the morning of Nov 27, and the lowest, a -3.3 ft minus tide, on the evening of Nov 25.
| High tide | 12:17 AM | 5.6 ft |
| Low tide | 6:30 AM | 1.9 ft |
| High tide | 1:36 PM | 8.8 ft |
| Low tide | 8:40 PM | 2.7 ft |
Today on the water at Bellingham
Today at Bellingham: high tide at 12:17 AM (5.6 ft) and 1:36 PM (8.8 ft), low tide at 6:30 AM (1.9 ft) and 8:40 PM (2.7 ft). The National Weather Service forecast for Wednesday is partly sunny then chance light rain with SE winds 1 to 15 mph, 56°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 7:00 AM and sunset at 4:47 PM.
| Period | Forecast | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight | Mostly Clear | 0 mph | 42°F |
| Wednesday | Partly Sunny then Chance Light Rain | SE 1 to 15 mph | 56°F |
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Bellingham is
Bellingham sits at 48.7450° N, 122.4950° W on Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, at Bellingham, WA. The station here is a subordinate tide prediction point. NOAA has no gauge in the water at this spot; its times and heights are published as offsets from a reference gauge, named below. The closest gauge measuring live water level is Cherry Point (NOAA 9449424), 14.5 mi away, and high and low water here run on average about 9 min earlier than there. The nearest weather station is Se'lhaem Bellingham Bay, an offshore buoy reporting wind, waves and water temperature, 4.0 mi away.
The tide at Bellingham
Bellingham has a mixed tide: two highs and two lows a day, but of unequal size, so one low each day drains noticeably lower than the other. This month's predictions average 1.8 high tides a day here. The mean range from lower low to higher high is 8.5 ft, and 5.4 ft between the average high and the average low, a large tide. On an average day the higher high tops the lower high by 0.7 ft and the lower low sits 2.4 ft below the other low. For the water around it: Puget Sound tides are mixed semidiurnal with a strong daily inequality: two highs and two lows a day, ranges of 8 to 14 ft, and lows that differ by several feet.
About this station
- High tide reaches Bellingham about 0.6 hours after the moon passes overhead. That lag is local, which is why high water does not line up with the moon.
- Highest water on record: 10.4 ft on Jan 5, 1975.
- Lowest on record: -3.5 ft on Dec 30, 1974.
- NOAA predicts tides here from Port Townsend, station 9444900. High tide comes about 43 min later and low tide about 71 min later than there.
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 Bellingham from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 8.5 ft above it and mean sea level 4.9 ft. The land survey datum NAVD88, the zero on topographic maps and flood maps, is 0.5 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 Friday Harbor, WA gauge. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 9449211, established 1973, gauge removed 1975. The tide times and heights are published as time and height offsets from its reference gauge; TidalMap republishes them daily and does not alter them.
Tide stations near Bellingham
- Village Point, Lummi Island: 9.9 mi, tides at about the same time
- Sandy Point, Lummi Bay: 10.2 mi, tides about 11 min later
- Cherry Point: 14.5 mi, tides about 9 min later
- Strawberry Bay, Cypress Island: 16.2 mi, tides about 14 min earlier
- Anacortes, Guemes Channel: 16.7 mi, tides about 30 min earlier
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Bellingham this month: Nov 25, Nov 26, Nov 27, Nov 28, Nov 29, Nov 30. 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 Bellingham this month: Nov 1, Nov 2, Nov 7, Nov 8, Nov 9, Nov 10, Nov 12, Nov 13, Nov 14, Nov 15, Nov 22, Nov 23 …. 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 Bellingham, 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 🌗 | 7:30–9:30 AM 7:55–9:55 PM | 12:54–2:54 AM 1:50–3:50 PM | 62 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 8:15–10:15 AM 8:40–10:40 PM | 2:11–4:11 AM 2:05–4:05 PM | 74 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 9:00–11:00 AM 9:25–11:25 PM | 3:27–5:27 AM 2:20–4:20 PM | 84 |
| Sat Nov 7 🌘 | 9:46–11:46 AM 10:11–12:11 AM | 4:42–6:42 AM 2:37–4:37 PM | 92 |
| Sun Nov 8 🌘 | 10:32–12:32 PM 10:57–12:57 AM | 5:57–7:57 AM 2:58–4:58 PM | 97 |
| Mon Nov 9 🌑 | 11:20–1:20 PM 11:45–1:45 AM | 7:09–9:09 AM 3:23–5:23 PM | 99 |
| Tue Nov 10 🌑 | 12:10–2:10 PM 12:35–2:35 AM | 8:18–10:18 AM 3:57–5:57 PM | 98 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 9449211. Solunar windows computed from the moon's position for this location. Times shown in the station's local time. Not for navigation.
Open this station in TidalMapLive water level, free for 7 days
Set your own flood/low lines, moon & solunar, weather and live tides in the app, start a free TidalMap trial.