Chesapeake, Southern Branch tidal current predictions

Now

Ebb 0.4 ktToward N (0°)

Next slack

Sun 4:17 AMEDT

Next max flood

1.0 ktSun 7:48 AM

Next max ebb

0.9 ktSun 1:21 AM

Knots along the channel: above the line the flood, running in toward S (180°); below it the ebb, running out toward N (0°). Times are Eastern Daylight Time. Today: ebb 0.8 kt 12:50 AM, slack 3:46 AM, flood 0.9 kt 7:08 AM, slack 10:17 AM, ebb 0.8 kt 1:21 PM, slack 4:24 PM, flood 0.8 kt 7:24 PM, slack 10:09 PM.

• Coastal Flood Warning Coastal Flood Warning issued September 26 at 10:41PM EDT until September 27 at 2:00PM EDT by NWS Wakefield VAUntil Sun 2:00 PM
  Full text

  * WHAT...One to two feet of inundation above ground level in low- lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways. * WHERE...The cities of Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Poquoson, Norfolk, and Portsmouth. * WHEN...Until 2 PM EDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Widespread flooding of vulnerable areas will result in an elevated threat of property damage to homes and businesses near the waterfront and shoreline. Water will be 1 to 2 feet above ground level in some areas resulting in a sufficient depth to close numerous roads and threaten homes and businesses. Flooding will extend inland from the waterfront along tidal rivers and bays resulting in some road closures and flooding of vehicles.

  Take the necessary actions to protect flood-prone property. If travel is required, do not drive around barricades or through water of unknown depth.

The flood is the tidal current running in from the sea, the ebb the current running back out. Slack water is the short turn between them, when the current is weakest: the time to cross a strong channel, anchor, or dive. Slack in a channel is not the time of high or low tide; it can come hours after.

Speeds are knots along the channel's main axis, and directions are degrees true toward which the water flows, as NOAA prints its tables. A current against the wind stands the waves up steep and close together.

Predictions are astronomical: the moon and the sun, not the weather. Strong wind, river flow after heavy rain and storm surge all change the real current. This is a subordinate station: NOAA predicts it from a nearby harmonic station by fixed corrections to the times and speeds of its slack waters and maxima, so the curve between them is less exact.

• Berkley, Southern BranchSubordinate current station1.8 mi
• Money Point, Southern BranchSubordinate current station2.3 mi
• Gilmerton Hwy. bridge, Southern BranchSubordinate current station2.3 mi
• Berkley Bridge, Eastern BranchSubordinate current station2.3 mi
• Norfolk and Western RR. Bridge, E BranchSubordinate current station3.2 mi
• Seaboard Coast Line RR, Pinner PointSubordinate current station3.9 mi
• West Norfolk Bridge, Western BranchSubordinate current station4.5 mi
• Lamberts PointSubordinate current station5.2 mi

• Tide times at Portsmouth, Naval Shipyard 0.9 mi
• Tide times at Money Point 2.2 mi
• Tide times at Norfolk 3.0 mi
• Forecast for Chesapeake, VA
• Open the live map with tidal currents
• All tidal current stations in Virginia

Tidal current predictions from NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), station ACT5266, bin 1: original at NOAA. Marine alerts from the National Weather Service.