Colonial Beach, Va. Tides Today
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Colonial Beach, Va. runs a mean tidal range of about 1.6 ft. This month the highest water, 2.3 ft, comes on the afternoon of Oct 10, and the lowest, 0.0 ft, on the morning of Oct 27.
| Low tide | 1:29 AM | 0.3 ft |
| High tide | 7:12 AM | 1.7 ft |
| Low tide | 1:33 PM | 0.1 ft |
| High tide | 7:41 PM | 1.9 ft |
Today on the water at Colonial Beach, Va.
Today at Colonial Beach, Va.: high tide at 7:12 AM (1.7 ft) and 7:41 PM (1.9 ft), low tide at 1:29 AM (0.3 ft) and 1:33 PM (0.1 ft). The National Weather Service forecast for today is mostly sunny with N winds 3 to 9 mph, 63°F. Sunrise is at 7:31 AM and sunset at 6:11 PM.
| Period | Forecast | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Mostly Sunny | N 3 to 9 mph | 63°F |
| Tonight | Mostly Cloudy | E 0 to 3 mph | 52°F |
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Colonial Beach, Va. is
Colonial Beach, Va. sits at 38.2517° N, 76.9600° W on the Chesapeake Bay, at Colonial Beach, VA. The station here is a historical NOAA reference station: a gauge measured the tide at this spot from 1972 until 2010, and NOAA still publishes harmonic predictions from that record. There is no live reading here today. The closest gauge measuring live water level is Dahlgren, Upper Machodoc Creek, Va. (NOAA 8635027), 6.3 mi away, and high and low water here run on average about 15 min earlier than there. The nearest weather station is Dahlgren, VA, a shore station reporting wind and, at most sites, water temperature, 6.3 mi away.
The tide at Colonial Beach, Va.
Colonial Beach, Va. 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 1.9 ft, and 1.6 ft between the average high and the average low, a small tide. On an average day the higher high tops the lower high by 0.2 ft and the lower low sits 0.1 ft below the other low. For the water around it: Chesapeake tides are semidiurnal but small, 1 to 3 ft, and arrive many hours after the ocean tide as the wave works up the bay and its rivers.
About this station
- High tide reaches Colonial Beach, Va. 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.
- Highest water on record: 5.2 ft on Sep 6, 1996.
- Lowest on record: -3.9 ft on Apr 4, 1975.
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 Colonial Beach, Va. from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 1.9 ft above it and mean sea level 1.0 ft. The land survey datum NAVD88, the zero on topographic maps and flood maps, is 1.0 ft above MLLW here, so a water level on this page converts to NAVD88 by subtracting that amount. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 8635150, established 1972, gauge removed 2010. 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 Colonial Beach, Va.
- Dahlgren, Upper Machodoc Creek, Va.: 6.3 mi, tides about 15 min later
- Saunders Wharf: 11.9 mi, tides about 93 min later
- Port Royal: 13.6 mi, tides about 190 min later
- Park Turn: 15.6 mi, tides about 217 min later
- Mount Holly, Nomini Creek, Va.: 16.2 mi, tides about 18 min later
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Colonial Beach, Va. this month: Oct 1, Oct 2, Oct 8, Oct 9, Oct 10, Oct 11, Oct 12, Oct 25, Oct 26, Oct 27, Oct 28. 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 Colonial Beach, Va., 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 🌖 | 4:46–6:46 AM 5:11–7:11 PM | 10:10–12:10 AM 12:30–2:30 PM | 55 |
| Sun Nov 1 🌗 | 5:47–7:47 AM 6:12–8:12 PM | — 1:12–3:12 PM | 42 |
| Mon Nov 2 🌗 | 6:42–8:42 AM 7:07–9:07 PM | 11:26–1:26 AM 1:47–3:47 PM | 33 |
| Tue Nov 3 🌗 | 7:34–9:34 AM 7:59–9:59 PM | 12:40–2:40 AM 2:16–4:16 PM | 47 |
| Wed Nov 4 🌗 | 8:22–10:22 AM 8:47–10:47 PM | 1:50–3:50 AM 2:42–4:42 PM | 60 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 9:08–11:08 AM 9:33–11:33 PM | 2:58–4:58 AM 3:06–5:06 PM | 73 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 9:53–11:53 AM 10:18–12:18 AM | 4:05–6:05 AM 3:31–5:31 PM | 83 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 8635150. 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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