Tide Predictions

[Nay]

OK, I'm not great at reading the ocean yet, but I'm getting vastly different information on tides for So Cal and was wondering your opinions/thoughts.

I frequently use Wave Cast and it matches to the OC Register's tide info pretty closely. However, Wet Sand which we all use quite a bit, have something so totally different I had to ask. The Newport Bay Entrance tidal times are almost exactly opposite (12 hours off) of the other two links.

I know that tides will change a bit by beach but the general times and sizes should be close.
And, if you scroll thru other locations for tides on the Wet Sand site you get vastly different tidal shapes too.

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[pasley]

No informtion on your question. But consider this, the sunset time varies by as much as 7 minutes between Santa Monica and Laguna Beach. :06:

 

[Nay]

:freak: Brain dripping out my ear......

 

[Scot M]

I'm looking at all three for tomorrow, Tuesday 10/19, and I don't see any great difference in high tide info:

Wetsand - 1:08 PM, 5.42 ft,
OC Reg - 1:13 PM, 5.5 ft
Wave Cast - 1:15 PM, 5.58 ft
TideTool - 1:08 PM, 5.42 ft (I use this on my PDA)

 

[pasley]

When I looked yesterday I also did not see the variance in water height other than time, but will acept it happend betweeen sites.

On possibility is that Wetsand, being the surfer based tool that it is (meaning if they say good conditions, we SCUBA divers read bad and visa versa) may use the effective water height. Meaning they may take the tide and add the expected swell to it to determine the expected height of the water and the resulting anticipated wave height. This of course would vary greatly from location to location depending upon anticipated swell height at that location.

Stuff can and does vary from one location to the next. Sunrise and moon rise and set vary from Malibu to Laguna Beach by 5 minutes or more.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/aa_pap.pl

Malibu, Los Angeles County, California (longitude W118.6, latitude N34.0):
Tuesday 19 October 2004 Pacific Daylight Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight 6:38 a.m.
Sunrise 7:03 a.m.
Sun transit 12:39 p.m.
Sunset 6:15 p.m.
End civil twilight 6:40 p.m.
MOON
Moonset 9:53 p.m. on preceding day
Moonrise 1:21 p.m.
Moon transit 6:09 p.m.
Moonset 10:59 p.m.
Moonrise 2:16 p.m. on following day


Laguna Beach, Orange County, California (longitude W117.8, latitude N33.5):
Tuesday 19 October 2004 Pacific Daylight Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight 6:34 a.m.
Sunrise 6:59 a.m.
Sun transit 12:36 p.m.
Sunset 6:12 p.m.
End civil twilight 6:37 p.m.
MOON
Moonset 9:51 p.m. on preceding day
Moonrise 1:16 p.m.
Moon transit 6:06 p.m.
Moonset 10:57 p.m.
Moonrise 2:11 p.m. on following day

The difference in the Sun and Moon rise would of course change the time of the tide a bit,and maybe the height (I don't see how). In addition the closer to the equater you are the smaller the tide. In fact the tide at the equator is virtually none existant (1-3 inches) as it is in the Mediterian. Conversely the further north the greater the tide. In Canada and other places (Incohon Korea for expample) there are 30 foot tides! Some places have 2 tides a day, others 3 and still others none! Go figure. Tides are interesting things to read about.
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/time/tides.html
http://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/

 

[Nay]

I'm looking at all three for tomorrow, Tuesday 10/19, and I don't see any great difference in high tide info:

Wetsand - 1:08 PM, 5.42 ft,
OC Reg - 1:13 PM, 5.5 ft
Wave Cast - 1:15 PM, 5.58 ft
TideTool - 1:08 PM, 5.42 ft (I use this on my PDA)

Ah, maybe it was just yesterday. When I posted it, Wetsand had a Low tide for Monday at about noon which is pretty much opposite of all the others. Maybe it was some sort of fluke.

thanks Scot, thanks Mel