Tide Information for Dewees

The Weather link under planning your trip includes information about the tides in the area around Dewees Island.

The tide is affected by the position of the moon, the sun and the other planets. The weather also affects the tide. For example, a prolonged storm from the Northeast might keep some water pushed against the shore and marshes, making the highs and lows higher than predicted.

There are 2 high tides and 2 low tides a day. Every 12 to 13 hours, the water goes from high to low to high again. High tide tomorrow is roughly an hour later than today. For one or two days humans can make a rough estimate of when the next high tide will be. After a week, however, the time changes are significant enough that people can’t easily predict the times. So it’s important to check a tide chart or use an online predictor.

The low tide occurs at roughly the same time (within a few hours) everywhere on the East Coast of the U.S. and Canada. That means that every river, harbor, creek, marsh and inlet has released approximately 6 feet of tidal water to the ocean at the same time. Stop and think about it. That’s a lot of water. It’s always been amazing to me that the gravitational pull of the moon and other celestial bodies can move so much water in such a short period of time.

The height of the tide in an area depends on a bunch of factors. In the South Atlantic Bight — extending from roughly Cape Hatteras, NC, to West Palm Beach, FL — the tides are higher and lower in middle of the Bight. Savannah, GA has approximately an 8 foot tide while Cap Hatteras has roughly a 4 foot tide. The Charleston area, including Dewees, has roughly a 6 foot tide.

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