Tide Forecaster

Use this utility to forecast high and low tides anywhere in coastal and ocean waters around New Zealand’s EEZ for up to 28 days 1 month. It also predicts historical tides back to 1830.

This current version does not cover tides inside most harbours and estuaries – just the entrances, except for Wellington, Waitemata and Lyttelton which are included.

Caution: If you select a location situated on intertidal areas or dry land, that is not part of the model domain, the map picker will automatically move to the nearest, valid location in the model grid.

Background

The Tide Forecaster uses a computer tide model developed by NIWA with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) with and assistance from Land Information NZ.

For most coastal locations the forecasts of high and low tides will be accurate within 0.1 m in height and 5-15 minutes in time. The default datum is the local Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT), calculated by using the lowest low tide in the next 19 years at that site.

Storm-tide red-alert days

We also provide a list of red-alert days during the year when high tides will be very high (aka king tides). This can be used as a rudimentary “heads-up” warning system for potential coastal flooding and wave overtopping in low-lying areas by keeping a watchful eye on weather systems (e.g., low-pressure systems or high winds and waves) during these days/periods.