Sea Level Tides Today
Open this station in TidalMapLive water level, free for 7 days
Sea Level runs a mean tidal range of about 0.5 ft. This month the highest water, 0.9 ft, comes on the afternoon of Oct 28, and the lowest, a -0.0 ft minus tide, on the morning of Oct 29.
| High tide | 3:40 AM | 0.6 ft |
| Low tide | 9:51 AM | 0.0 ft |
| High tide | 4:39 PM | 0.8 ft |
| Low tide | 11:33 PM | 0.2 ft |
Today on the water at Sea Level
Today at Sea Level: high tide at 3:40 AM (0.6 ft) and 4:39 PM (0.8 ft), low tide at 9:51 AM (0.0 ft) and 11:33 PM (0.2 ft). The National Weather Service forecast for today is mostly sunny with NE winds 18 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. In effect now: Small Craft Advisory. Sunrise is at 7:24 AM and sunset at 6:13 PM.
| Period | Forecast | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Mostly Sunny | NE 18 mph | 64°F |
| Tonight | Mostly Cloudy | NE 16 mph | 55°F |
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Sea Level is
Sea Level sits at 34.8750° N, 76.3433° W on North Carolina's sounds and Outer Banks, at Atlantic, NC. The station here is a historical NOAA reference station: a gauge measured the tide at this spot from 2004 until 2004, 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), 21.5 mi away, and high and low water here run on average about 244 min later than there. The nearest weather station is Piney Island, Bt-11 Bombing Range, an airport reporting wind, visibility and sky cover, but no water temperature, 12.2 mi away.
The tide at Sea Level
Sea Level 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 0.7 ft, and 0.6 ft between the average high and the average low, a small tide. On an average day the higher high tops the lower high by 0.0 ft and the lower low sits 0.1 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 Sea Level about 4.6 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 Sea Level from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 0.7 ft above it and mean sea level 0.4 ft. The land survey datum NAVD88, the zero on topographic maps and flood maps, is 0.7 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 Beaufort, Duke Marine Lab, NC gauge. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 8655875, established 2004, gauge removed 2004. 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 Sea Level
- Davis, Core Sound: 8.3 mi, tides about 73 min earlier
- Cedar Island: 10.1 mi, tides about 29 min earlier
- North River Bridge: 16.1 mi, tides about 108 min earlier
- Harkers Island Bridge: 17.3 mi, tides about 135 min earlier
- Channel Marker Lt. 59: 19.7 mi, tides about 188 min earlier
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Sea Level this month: Oct 1, Oct 11, Oct 12, Oct 13, 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.
🔻 Negative (minus) low tides at Sea Level this month: Oct 29. 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 Sea Level, 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 🌖 | 4:44–6:44 AM 5:09–7:09 PM | 10:17–12:17 AM 12:17–2:17 PM | 55 |
| Sun Nov 1 🌗 | 5:44–7:44 AM 6:09–8:09 PM | — 1:01–3:01 PM | 42 |
| Mon Nov 2 🌗 | 6:40–8:40 AM 7:05–9:05 PM | 11:31–1:31 AM 1:38–3:38 PM | 33 |
| Tue Nov 3 🌗 | 7:31–9:31 AM 7:56–9:56 PM | 12:42–2:42 AM 2:10–4:10 PM | 47 |
| Wed Nov 4 🌗 | 8:19–10:19 AM 8:44–10:44 PM | 1:50–3:50 AM 2:38–4:38 PM | 60 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 9:05–11:05 AM 9:30–11:30 PM | 2:56–4:56 AM 3:05–5:05 PM | 73 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 9:50–11:50 AM 10:15–12:15 AM | 4:00–6:00 AM 3:32–5:32 PM | 83 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 8655875. 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.