Cape Lookout Bight Tides Today
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Cape Lookout Bight runs a mean tidal range of about 3.6 ft. This month the highest water, 5.5 ft, comes on the morning of Oct 27, and the lowest, 0.0 ft, on the morning of Oct 28.
| Low tide | 5:22 AM | 0.5 ft |
| High tide | 12:00 PM | 4.8 ft |
| Low tide | 6:26 PM | 0.7 ft |
Today on the water at Cape Lookout Bight
Today at Cape Lookout Bight: high tide at 12:00 PM (4.8 ft), low tide at 5:22 AM (0.5 ft) and 6:26 PM (0.7 ft). The National Weather Service forecast for today is partly sunny with NE winds 24 mph, 64°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 7:24 AM and sunset at 6:14 PM.
| Period | Forecast | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Partly Sunny | NE 24 mph | 64°F |
| Tonight | Mostly Cloudy | NE 20 to 23 mph | 57°F |
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Cape Lookout Bight is
Cape Lookout Bight sits at 34.6133° N, 76.5383° W on North Carolina's sounds and Outer Banks, about 5 mi south of Harkers Island, NC, in Carteret County. The station here is a historical NOAA reference station: a gauge measured the tide at this spot from 1976 until 1976, and NOAA still publishes harmonic predictions from that record. There is no live reading here today. The closest gauge measuring live water level is Beaufort, Duke Marine Lab (NOAA 8656483), 10.4 mi away, and high and low water here run on average about 43 min earlier than there. The nearest weather station is Cape Lookout, NC, a shore station reporting wind and, at most sites, water temperature, 0.6 mi away.
The tide at Cape Lookout Bight
Cape Lookout Bight has a semidiurnal tide: two highs and two lows a day of about the same size, roughly 12 hours 25 minutes apart. This month's predictions average 1.9 high tides a day here. The mean range from lower low to higher high is 4.6 ft, and 4.0 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 0.2 ft below the other low. For the water around it: Ocean-side tides here are semidiurnal with two highs a day of 3 to 4 ft, while the sounds behind the banks are mostly wind driven with a lunar tide of a foot or less.
About this station
- High tide reaches Cape Lookout Bight about 11.9 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 Cape Lookout Bight from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 4.6 ft above it and mean sea level 2.2 ft. These datums are controlled from NOAA's Beaufort, Duke Marine Lab, NC gauge. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 8656841, established 1976, gauge removed 1976. 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 Cape Lookout Bight
- Cape Lookout (ocean): 0.7 mi, tides about 9 min earlier
- Harkers Island Bridge: 7.4 mi, tides about 152 min later
- Channel Marker Lt. 59: 7.8 mi, tides about 99 min later
- Beaufort, Taylor Creek: 9.1 mi, tides about 63 min later
- Beaufort Inlet Channel Range: 9.3 mi, tides about 22 min later
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Cape Lookout Bight this month: Oct 10, Oct 11, Oct 25, Oct 26, Oct 27, Oct 28, Oct 29, Oct 30. These spring highs push water up into the grass and over the oyster rock; prime for poling into flooded marsh for tailing reds.
Best fishing times (solunar)
Major and minor solunar windows for Cape Lookout Bight, 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 🌖 | 4:45–6:45 AM 5:10–7:10 PM | 10:19–12:19 AM 12:17–2:17 PM | 55 |
| Sun Nov 1 🌗 | 5:45–7:45 AM 6:10–8:10 PM | — 1:02–3:02 PM | 42 |
| Mon Nov 2 🌗 | 6:41–8:41 AM 7:06–9:06 PM | 11:32–1:32 AM 1:39–3:39 PM | 33 |
| Tue Nov 3 🌗 | 7:32–9:32 AM 7:57–9:57 PM | 12:43–2:43 AM 2:10–4:10 PM | 47 |
| Wed Nov 4 🌗 | 8:20–10:20 AM 8:45–10:45 PM | 1:51–3:51 AM 2:39–4:39 PM | 60 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 9:06–11:06 AM 9:31–11:31 PM | 2:56–4:56 AM 3:06–5:06 PM | 73 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 9:51–11:51 AM 10:16–12:16 AM | 4:00–6:00 AM 3:33–5:33 PM | 83 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 8656841. 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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