Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel Tides Today
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Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel runs a mean tidal range of about 1.2 ft. This month the highest water, 2.5 ft, comes on the evening of Oct 28, and the lowest, a -0.0 ft minus tide, on the morning of Oct 27.
| High tide | 12:45 AM | 2.3 ft |
| Low tide | 8:15 AM | 0.3 ft |
| High tide | 2:43 PM | 1.2 ft |
| Low tide | 7:03 PM | 0.9 ft |
Today on the water at Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel
Today at Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel: high tide at 12:45 AM (2.3 ft) and 2:43 PM (1.2 ft), low tide at 8:15 AM (0.3 ft) and 7:03 PM (0.9 ft). Sunrise is at 7:33 AM and sunset at 6:49 PM.
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel is
Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel sits at 24.4533° N, 81.8783° W on the Florida Keys, where the Atlantic meets Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, about 8 mi southwest of Key West, FL. The station here is a historical NOAA reference station: a gauge measured the tide at this spot from 1970 until 2000, and NOAA still publishes harmonic predictions from that record. There is no live reading here today. The closest gauge measuring live water level is Key West (NOAA 8724580), 8.3 mi away, and high and low water here run on average about 40 min earlier than there. The nearest weather station is Sand Key, FL, a shore station reporting wind and, at most sites, water temperature, 0.2 mi away.
The tide at Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel
Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel 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 1.9 high tides a day here. The mean range from lower low to higher high is 1.7 ft, and 1.2 ft between the average high and the average low, a small tide. On an average day the higher high tops the lower high by 0.3 ft and the lower low sits 0.2 ft below the other low. For the water around it: The Keys sit on a tidal seam: the ocean side has two semidiurnal highs a day near 2 ft, while the bay side is smaller and more diurnal, so tides on opposite sides of one key can differ by hours.
About this station
- High tide reaches Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel about 2.0 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 Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 1.7 ft above it and mean sea level 0.9 ft. These datums are controlled from NOAA's Key West, FL gauge. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 8724635, established 1970, gauge removed 2000. 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 Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel
- Key West: 8.3 mi, tides about 40 min later
- Channel Key, west side: 14.2 mi, tides about 228 min later
- Saddlebunch Keys, Channel No. 5: 19.4 mi, tides about 44 min later
- Waltz Key, Waltz Key Basin: 19.5 mi, tides about 135 min later
- Park Channel Bridge: 25.4 mi, tides about 229 min earlier
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel this month: Oct 1, Oct 2, Oct 25, Oct 26, Oct 27, Oct 28, Oct 29, 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 Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel this month: Oct 27, Oct 28. 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 Sand Key Lighthouse, Sand Key Channel, 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 🌖 | 5:07–7:07 AM 5:32–7:32 PM | — 12:13–2:13 PM | 55 |
| Sun Nov 1 🌗 | 6:07–8:07 AM 6:32–8:32 PM | 11:06–1:06 AM 1:02–3:02 PM | 42 |
| Mon Nov 2 🌗 | 7:03–9:03 AM 7:28–9:28 PM | 12:13–2:13 AM 1:45–3:45 PM | 33 |
| Tue Nov 3 🌗 | 7:54–9:54 AM 8:19–10:19 PM | 1:18–3:18 AM 2:23–4:23 PM | 47 |
| Wed Nov 4 🌗 | 8:42–10:42 AM 9:07–11:07 PM | 2:19–4:19 AM 2:58–4:58 PM | 60 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 9:28–11:28 AM 9:53–11:53 PM | 3:18–5:18 AM 3:32–5:32 PM | 73 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 10:13–12:13 PM 10:38–12:38 AM | 4:15–6:15 AM 4:05–6:05 PM | 83 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 8724635. 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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