High tides on the Eastern Shore
Charlie, on the Eastern Shore, left a comment here this morning asking why the rivers and creeks over there have been experiencing unusually high tides in recent days:
"I wanted to ask if you have any idea why we seem to be having a month's worth of very high tides here on the Upper Choptank and Tuckahoe Creek. Its been going on day after day, super high tides one after the other. What gives? Thanks. Charlie"
Well, he's right about the tides. Below is a graph of the tides at Cambridge over several recent cycles. You can see that water levels (red lines) have been running a foot or so above predicted levels for several days - at least four high tide cycles are captured on this graph.
The Western Shore has been seeing the same thing. Annapolis and Solomons Island are also running about a foot high. The NWS says the next several high tides will also be a foot or two above predictions. Here's this morning's tidal discussion from Sterling:
"EARLY MORNING TIDES WERE RUNNING 3/4 TO 1 FOOT ABOVE NORMAL. WATER
LEVEL AT ANNAPOLIS CRESTED JUST BELOW THE LOWEST THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR
MINOR TIDAL FLOODING AT 2.5 FEET. POSITIVE ANOMALIES SIMILAR TO
THOSE OCCURRING EARLY THIS MORNING WILL LIKELY CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT
COUPLE OF HIGH TIDE CYCLES. WILL MENTION TIDES UP TO 1 FOOT ABOVE
NORMAL IN CWF PRODUCT. MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED DURING
THE AFTERNOON HIGH TIDE WHICH IS THE LOWER OF THE NEXT TWO.
ANNAPOLIS WILL GET TO 1.9 TO 2.0 FEET. HOWEVER...THE FOLLOWING HIGH
TIDE CYCLE OVERNIGHT BEARS MORE WATCHING. 1 FOOT ABOVE ASTRONOMICAL
PREDICTIONS WOULD PUT ANNAPOLIS JUST ABOVE 2.5 FEET."
The blue arrows on the next graph down show wind direction. And they also reveal a persistent component out of the west or southwest. That would tend to blow water up into the Bay, and hold more of the water in at low tide.
The next chart down shows atmospheric pressure, which has been trending low in recent days. Tides tend to run higher under low air pressure.
There is also the moon to consider. The moon was "new" on the 22nd, and that would have exerted an extra tug on the tides for several days, making the highs higher and the lows lower last week. The astronomical, or lunar component, however, would have been weakening in recent days, leaving the winds as the dominant factor. The moon will become a bigger factor closer to the full moon in another week - on July 7
The persistent winds would seem to be the result in part of low pressure systems that have been lingering off the New England coast, and the Great Lakes for several weeks.
That's my take on it, anyway. Anyone else? Take any good high water photos? Email them to me at frank.roylance@baltsun.com
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