How soon after high tide does the tide start to go out.?
How soon after high tide does the tide begin to recede? If high tide occurs at 0600, how long will it take for the tide to start going out after that time?
4 Answers
Feb 18, 2025
Depends entirely on location, and varies depending on lunar cycle and several other factors. Generally, the tides take a little more than 6 hours to go from high to low. Change in the level of water is quickest near the middle of the cycle (third and fourth hours) . It’s a sinus (sine wave) rate of change: slow at high and low tide, faster at the half-way point. For example: if it is high tide at 0600, and tide level is projected to be twelve feet, not much change (about a foot) will be evident for about an hacceleratedcond hour will have accellerated change (two feet), the third and fourth hours will be be the quickest change (three feet each). The fifth hour will resemble the second hour in rate of change, and the sixth hour will resemble the first to the point of low tide (about 1200 noon).
It depends on the length of the tidal cycle (it varies from place to place), but for the most common period of 6 hours between low tide and high tide, sailors use the following rule of thumb; dividing by twelve:
1,2,3,3,2,1
That is tide comes in 1/12 during the first hour. 2/12 during the second hour, 3/12 during the third hour, 3/12 during the fourth hour, 2/1 during the fifth hour, and 1/12 during the sixth hour. (The reverse is the case when the tide is going out).
This is known as the ‘rule of twelfths’, and provides a good estimate.
Note that half of the tidal flow occur in the middle period between high and low ides – something to think about, if you are on an island, or stuck on a and bank.:
Tide:
Tide is the cycle of rising and falling of the surface of bodies of water caused by the attraction of the moon and the sun. (noun)
An example of the tide is when the ocean’s water is at its highest point on the beach.
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If ‘high tide’ is at 0600, that is the moment in the cycle when the water level is highest at your location. 1 instant later, the tide starts receding toward ‘low tide’.
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I hope this makes sense and is helpful.
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