The highest predicted waters at Crystal Crescent, through 2028. Every high tide reaching 7.0 m above Chart Datum.
What counts as a king tide
There is no official definition. NOAA does not publish one, and the
California King Tides Project simply means the highest predicted tides of
the year. This page lists every predicted high water of
7.0 m or more above Chart Datum, which on this stretch of coast picks out
the handful of days each winter when the water comes up unusually far.
They happen when the moon is closest to Earth and new or full at the same
time, with the Earth near its own closest approach to the sun. That
alignment stacks the solar and lunar pulls together, and it lands in
November, December and January far more often than not.
These are predictions of astronomical tide only. A winter storm arriving on
a king tide is what causes flooding, because surge and wind can add a foot
or more on top of the figures here.
What a king tide means at Crystal Crescent
The highest tides of the year bring water over the Halifax boardwalk and into the low streets near the harbour. With only six feet of range it takes weather to make it serious — and Halifax gets weather.
Hurricane Juan and Dorian both arrived on ordinary tides and still did what they did. A king tide is a preview of the baseline, which is why the city photographs them.