King tides
The term king tide has no scientific definition – in popular usage it refers to any high tide well above average height. The popular concept is that the king tides are the higher high waters which occur around Christmas time. Equally high tides occur in the winter months but these are at night and not as obvious as those at Christmas which generally occur during the day.
View the highest tides predictions for 2024.
Queensland has a relatively large and variable tidal range, for example:
- 7.18m at Hay Point
- 6.62m at Mackay
- 4.85m at Karumba
- 4.87m at Gladstone
- 3.94m at Thursday Island
- 3.57m at Cairns
- 2.78m at Brisbane
- 2.21m on the Sunshine Coast.
- occur naturally and regularly
- are predicted in the tide book
- are not an everyday occurrence.
In a lunar month the highest tides occur at the time of the new moon and full moon (when the gravitational forces of the sun and moon are in line). These are called spring tides and they occur about every 14 days.
In any 1 year there will be 2 spring tides that are the highest, 1 during summer and 1 during winter. These are referred to as king tides. The king tides occur because of the combined influence of a number of astronomical factors related to the sun and the moon (and their alignments) and the gravitational attraction they each have on the water surface of the Earth.
The earth moves around the sun in an elliptical orbit that takes a little over 365 days to complete. The sun has an influence on the tides. Its gravitational force is greatest when the earth is closest to the sun (perihelion – early January) and least when the earth is furthest from the sun (aphelion – early July).
The moon has a larger effect on the tides than the sun. The moon moves around the earth in an elliptical orbit that takes about 29 days to complete. The gravitational force is greatest when the moon is closest to the earth (perigee) and least when it is furthest from the earth (apogee – about 2 weeks after perigee).
The king tides occur when the earth, moon and sun are aligned at perigee and perihelion. The combined effect of the moon's phase and the varying gravitational forces of the sun and moon result in the highest of the spring tides occurring during the summer months of December, January and February and also in the winter months of June, July and August.
During normal weather conditions, the height of the king tides will be similar from year to year. However, in abnormal weather conditions (severe storms or cyclones) the low air pressures and strong winds at these times can elevate the sea level above the expected height.
Highest tides for year 2024
Place |
Highest Summer Tides Date Time Height |
Highest Winter Tides Date Time Height |
Gold Coast Seaway HAT 1.97m |
10/02/2024 08:41 1.92m 11/02/2024 09:24 1.92m |
09/05/2024 21:26 1.87m 06/06/2024 20:24 1.87m 22/07/2024 21:17 1.87m |
Brisbane Bar HAT 2.78m |
11/02/2024 10:45 2.77m | 20/08/2024 22:15 2.68m |
Mooloolaba HAT 2.21m |
10/02/2024 08:31 2.19m 11/02/2024 09:15 2.19m |
08/05/2024 20:30 2.10m 09/05/2024 21:16 2.10m 22/07/2024 21:08 2.10m 20/08/2024 20:45 2.10m |
Noosa Head HAT 2.35m |
10/02/2024 08:29 2.33m | 08/05/2024 20:20 2.27m |
Urangan HAT 4.33m |
11/02/2024 09:47 4.24m | 20/08/2024 21:20 4.14m |
Fraser Island (Waddy Point) HAT 2.42m |
10/02/2024 08:17 2.35m 11/02/2024 09:02 2.35m |
09/05/2024 21:07 2.27m |
Bundaberg (Burnett Heads) HAT 3.68m |
11/02/2024 09:39 3.60m | 20/08/2024 21:10 3.45m |
Gladstone HAT 4.87m |
11/02/2024 10:18 4.79m | 20/08/2024 21:52 4.60m |
Port Alma HAT 5.96m |
11/02/2024 10:22 5.87m | 20/08/2024 21:55 5.66m |
Rosslyn Bay HAT 5.21m |
10/02/2024 09:26 5.13m 11/02/2024 10:10 5.13m |
20/08/2024 21:41 4.93m |
Hay Point HAT 7.18m |
10/02/2024 11:09 7.08m | 20/08/2024 23:26 6.84m |
Mackay Outer Harbour HAT 6.62m |
10/02/2024 11:12 6.54m | 20/08/2024 23:28 6.29m |
Shute Harbour HAT 4.39m |
10/02/2024 11:03 4.33m | 19/08/2024 22:40 4.08m |
Bowen HAT 3.77m |
10/02/2024 10:15 3.72m 09/03/2024 09:08 3.72m |
19/08/2024 21:51 3.49m |
Abbot Point HAT 3.62m |
10/02/2024 10:02 3.58m 09/03/2024 08:55 3.58m |
19/08/2024 21:36 3.36m |
Cape Ferguson HAT 3.84m |
10/03/2024 08:53 3.90m | 17/09/2024 20:26 3.62m |
Townsville HAT 4.22m |
10/03/2024 08:57 4.18m | 17/09/2024 20:30 3.90m |
Lucinda Offshore HAT 4.06m |
10/03/2024 09:02 4.03m | 17/09/2024 20:36 3.74m |
Clump Point HAT 3.71m |
09/03/2024 08:26 3.69m 10/03/2024 09:01 3.69m |
17/09/2024 20:35 3.41m |
Mourilyan Harbour HAT 3.58m |
09/03/2024 08:28 3.57m 10/03/2024 09:02 3.57m |
17/09/2024 20:35 3.31m |
Cairns HAT 3.57m |
10/03/2024 09:16 3.55m |
19/08/2024 21:21 3.28m 17/09/2024 20:49 3.28m |
Port Douglas HAT 3.40m |
09/03/2024 08:29 3.41m 10/03/2024 09:04 3.41m |
17/09/2024 20:38 3.15m |
Twin Island HAT 3.88m |
10/02/2024 12:33 3.82m 09/03/2024 11:30 3.82m 10/03/2024 12:07 3.82m |
20/08/2024 00:01 3.73m |
Thursday Island HAT 3.94m |
09/02/2024 12:34 3.82m 10/02/2024 13:13 3.82m |
|
Goods Island HAT 4.15m |
18/02/2024 10:43 4.05m | |
Booby Island HAT 4.43m |
20/01/2024 11:29 4.34m 17/02/2024 10:09 4.34m 18/02/2024 10:35 4.34m |
|
Weipa (Humbug Point) HAT 3.33m |
11/02/2024 17:07 3.30m | |
Amrun (Boyd Point) HAT 3.32m |
11/02/2024 16:28 3.30m | |
Karumba HAT 4.85m |
13/01/2024 21:24 4.85m | |
Mornington Island HAT 3.95m |
13/01/2024 23:00 3.89m |