The lowest predicted waters at Coatzacoalcos, through 2030. The days each year when the sea goes furthest out.
What a minus tide is
Tide heights are measured from a datum — here MLLW —
which is roughly the average of the lower low waters. Most low tides sit a
little above it. A few times a year one falls below, and the height is
printed as a negative number: a minus tide.
They happen on the same days as the king tides, and for the same reason. When
the sun and moon pull together the water comes up further than usual, and it
also goes out further than usual. The big high and the big low are six hours
apart on the same day.
A foot below datum does not sound like much. On a shallow shore it can mean a
few hundred yards of ground uncovered that nobody sees the rest of the year.
Minus tides still to come
22–26 December 2026
Date
Low water
Height
22 DecTue
6:27 am
-0.88 ft
23 DecWed
7:20 am
-1.07 ft
24 DecThu
8:13 am
-1.14 ft
25 DecFri
9:04 am
-1.05 ft
26 DecSat
9:56 am
-0.81 ft
19–23 January 2027
Date
Low water
Height
19 JanTue
5:17 am
-0.85 ft
20 JanWed
6:17 am
-0.99 ft
21 JanThu
7:17 am
-1.04 ft
22 JanFri
8:11 am
-0.96 ft
23 JanSat
9:05 am
-0.75 ft
23 JanSat
10:05 pm
1.05 ft
3–7 June 2027
Date
Low water
Height
3 JunThu
7:11 pm
-0.71 ft
4 JunFri
7:59 pm
-0.89 ft
5 JunSat
8:47 pm
-0.95 ft
6 JunSun
9:35 pm
-0.88 ft
7 JunMon
10:29 pm
-0.67 ft
1–5 July 2027
Date
Low water
Height
1 JulThu
6:05 pm
-0.73 ft
2 JulFri
6:59 pm
-0.91 ft
3 JulSat
7:53 pm
-0.98 ft
4 JulSun
8:41 pm
-0.93 ft
5 JulMon
9:29 pm
-0.73 ft
9–13 January 2028
Date
Low water
Height
9 JanSun
5:41 am
-0.70 ft
10 JanMon
6:35 am
-0.85 ft
11 JanTue
7:29 am
-0.92 ft
12 JanWed
8:17 am
-0.89 ft
13 JanThu
9:05 am
-0.73 ft
13 JanThu
10:41 pm
1.16 ft
4–8 June 2028
Date
Low water
Height
4 JunSun
6:29 pm
-0.53 ft
5 JunMon
7:17 pm
-0.71 ft
6 JunTue
7:59 pm
-0.79 ft
7 JunWed
8:35 pm
-0.77 ft
8 JunThu
9:17 pm
-0.67 ft
13–17 December 2028
Date
Low water
Height
13 DecWed
5:53 am
-0.59 ft
14 DecThu
6:47 am
-0.79 ft
15 DecFri
7:35 am
-0.89 ft
16 DecSat
8:17 am
-0.88 ft
17 DecSun
8:59 am
-0.77 ft
25–29 May 2029
Date
Low water
Height
25 MayFri
6:35 pm
-0.47 ft
26 MaySat
7:24 pm
-0.73 ft
27 MaySun
8:11 pm
-0.87 ft
28 MayMon
8:57 pm
-0.87 ft
29 MayTue
9:43 pm
-0.75 ft
23–27 June 2029
Date
Low water
Height
23 JunSat
6:22 pm
-0.76 ft
24 JunSun
7:17 pm
-0.88 ft
25 JunMon
8:06 pm
-0.89 ft
26 JunTue
8:50 pm
-0.79 ft
27 JunWed
9:31 pm
-0.60 ft
4–8 December 2029
Date
Low water
Height
4 DecTue
6:53 am
-0.72 ft
5 DecWed
7:44 am
-0.89 ft
6 DecThu
8:32 am
-0.92 ft
7 DecFri
9:20 am
-0.81 ft
8 DecSat
10:09 am
-0.59 ft
1–5 January 2030
Date
Low water
Height
1 JanTue
5:50 am
-0.76 ft
2 JanWed
6:47 am
-0.89 ft
3 JanThu
7:41 am
-0.93 ft
4 JanFri
8:29 am
-0.85 ft
5 JanSat
9:12 am
-0.68 ft
5 JanSat
10:58 pm
0.95 ft
13–17 June 2030
Date
Low water
Height
13 JunThu
6:30 pm
-0.68 ft
14 JunFri
7:23 pm
-0.87 ft
15 JunSat
8:14 pm
-0.94 ft
16 JunSun
9:02 pm
-0.88 ft
17 JunMon
9:50 pm
-0.69 ft
22–26 December 2030
Date
Low water
Height
22 DecSun
6:00 am
-0.66 ft
23 DecMon
6:54 am
-0.86 ft
24 DecTue
7:47 am
-0.96 ft
25 DecWed
8:37 am
-0.93 ft
26 DecThu
9:25 am
-0.77 ft
Minus tides already past
1–4 January 2026
Date
Low water
Height
1 JanThu
6:14 am
-1.01 ft
2 JanFri
7:12 am
-1.14 ft
3 JanSat
8:07 am
-1.13 ft
4 JanSun
8:56 am
-1.00 ft
13–17 June 2026
Date
Low water
Height
13 JunSat
6:55 pm
-0.91 ft
14 JunSun
7:47 pm
-1.09 ft
15 JunMon
8:39 pm
-1.12 ft
16 JunTue
9:30 pm
-1.00 ft
17 JunWed
10:24 pm
-0.74 ft
Going out safely
The water comes back. Work out when the tide turns before you walk out to
anything, and allow more time than the return trip took — a rising tide fills
channels behind you before it reaches where you are standing.
Wet rock is slippery, and what is exposed at a minus tide has been underwater
long enough to be covered in weed. Anything living out there is usually
protected by state or local rules; look it up before taking any of it home.