Tide Times

Most recent answer: 10/22/2007

Q:
About how much time passes between one high tide and the next high tide? From one low tide to the next low tide?
- Anonymous
connecticut
A:
It’s (very roughly) 12 hours from one high tide to the next, and of course the same for low tides. That’s because the tides produced when the Moon is directly overhead or in the opposite dirction are the same. The Moon passes directly overhead about once per day, due to the Earth’s rotation.
To be more precise, it’s about 12 hours and 25 minutes between high tides, when you take into account the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. Since there are weaker tides from the Sun, those can change the periods on particular days, dependeing on whether they are in-phase or out-of-phase with the Sun tides.

Mike W.

(published on 10/22/2007)

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