Higher than normal tides are predicted this month. Head to the shore on May 24-27-and join the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, URI Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant and Save The Bay to capture photos of the high tides, often called King Tides, Spring Tides or Moon Tides. These extreme tide levels provide a glimpse of what the state can expect as sea level rise accelerates with climate change, where this could be our daily high tide by mid-century. Participating is easy: simply grab your camera or smart phone and head to the bay, tidal river or ocean during the high tides, install the free MyCoast app and submit your photos!

We will see higher than normal tides, also referred to as “King Tides” for the next few days. Tides will be more than a foot higher than average and may cause flooding in the very low lying areas. Wednesday through Saturday predicted tides will be more than a foot higher than average and bad weather may add to the already higher water levels. Thursday night tides will likely be the worst. Unfortunately, the sun sets around 8 PM, so it may be dark for photos. But if you don’t mind a dark and rainy night give it a try.

High tides at Newport will be:

Wednesday     5-24-17            7:31 PM (0.99’ MHHW)

Thursday         5-25-17            8:23 PM (1.18’ MHHW)

Friday              5-26-17            9:15 PM (1.20’ MHHW)

Saturday          5-27-17            10:08 PM (1.08’ MHHW)

If you don’t live near Newport:

Add 9 minutes for Quonset
Add 13 minutes for Bristol
Add 18 minutes for Providence
Add 32 minutes for Weekapaug
Subtract 14 minutes for Block Island

If you live on an enclosed tidal water body or salt pond, the tides can be an hour or more later than in the open ocean or bay.