Wilmington Beach Tides Today
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Wilmington Beach runs a mean tidal range of about 4.2 ft. This month the highest water, 6.2 ft, comes on the morning of Oct 28, and the lowest, a -0.2 ft minus tide, on the morning of Oct 28.
| Low tide | 5:38 AM | 0.2 ft |
| High tide | 12:28 PM | 5.5 ft |
| Low tide | 6:58 PM | 0.5 ft |
Today on the water at Wilmington Beach
Today at Wilmington Beach: high tide at 12:28 PM (5.5 ft), low tide at 5:38 AM (0.2 ft) and 6:58 PM (0.5 ft). The National Weather Service forecast for today is mostly sunny with NE winds 14 to 17 mph, 69°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 7:29 AM and sunset at 6:21 PM.
| Period | Forecast | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Mostly Sunny | NE 14 to 17 mph | 69°F |
| Tonight | Mostly Cloudy | NE 15 mph | 55°F |
Forecast: National Weather Service point forecast for this location.
Where Wilmington Beach is
Wilmington Beach sits at 34.0317° N, 77.8933° W on the Carolina and Georgia coast on the South Atlantic Bight, at Carolina Beach, NC, in New Hanover County. 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 Bald Head Island (a Hohonu community gauge), 12.3 mi away, and high and low water here run on average about 10 min earlier than there. The nearest weather station is Masonboro Island, NC (MSNB_S), a shore station reporting wind and, at most sites, water temperature, 4.3 mi away.
The tide at Wilmington Beach
Wilmington Beach 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 4.7 ft, and 4.2 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 0.1 ft below the other low. For the water around it: Lowcountry tides are semidiurnal, two highs and two lows a day of near equal size, and the range grows toward Georgia, where 6 to 9 ft is normal.
About this station
- High tide reaches Wilmington Beach about 0.1 hours after the moon passes overhead. That lag is local, which is why high water does not line up with the moon.
- NOAA predicts tides here from Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier, station 8654400. High tide comes about 18 min later and low tide about 10 min later than there.
- High tide heights run about 1.40 times the reference.
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 Wilmington Beach from the 1983-2001 National Tidal Datum Epoch; mean higher high water is 4.7 ft above it and mean sea level 2.2 ft. The land survey datum NAVD88, the zero on topographic maps and flood maps, is 3.0 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 Wilmington, NC gauge. Source: NOAA CO-OPS station 8658559, established 1977, gauge removed 1979. 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 Wilmington Beach
- Sunny Point Army Base, Wharf no.1: 4.6 mi, tides about 51 min later
- Federal Point: 5.5 mi, tides about 41 min later
- Zekes Island: 6.6 mi, tides about 63 min later
- Southport: 10.8 mi, tides about 25 min later
- Bald Head: 12.2 mi, tides about 9 min earlier
TidalMapMonthly tide calendar
🌊 Biggest flood tides at Wilmington Beach this month: Oct 1, 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.
🔻 Negative (minus) low tides at Wilmington Beach this month: Oct 26, Oct 27, Oct 28, 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 Wilmington Beach, 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 🌖 | 4:50–6:50 AM 5:15–7:15 PM | 10:26–12:26 AM 12:21–2:21 PM | 55 |
| Sun Nov 1 🌗 | 5:51–7:51 AM 6:16–8:16 PM | — 1:06–3:06 PM | 42 |
| Mon Nov 2 🌗 | 6:46–8:46 AM 7:11–9:11 PM | 11:39–1:39 AM 1:43–3:43 PM | 33 |
| Tue Nov 3 🌗 | 7:38–9:38 AM 8:03–10:03 PM | 12:50–2:50 AM 2:15–4:15 PM | 47 |
| Wed Nov 4 🌗 | 8:26–10:26 AM 8:51–10:51 PM | 1:57–3:57 AM 2:44–4:44 PM | 60 |
| Thu Nov 5 🌘 | 9:11–11:11 AM 9:36–11:36 PM | 3:02–5:02 AM 3:12–5:12 PM | 73 |
| Fri Nov 6 🌘 | 9:56–11:56 AM 10:21–12:21 AM | 4:05–6:05 AM 3:39–5:39 PM | 83 |
Predictions & observations: NOAA CO-OPS station 8658559. 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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