alteredcoast

This discussion will continue previous considerations looking at Tide data from Lowestoft for the months of January and July, from 2015 to the present day. The two months were selected to give a contrasting snapshot of tidal values in a winter and a summer month in the year. A chart is updated twice a year with data from the 1^st, 15^th and 30^th of the month, to indicate the highest tide values for these dates in January and July, for each year being considered.

The highest Surge (or residual) value is also collected and displayed in a Table below. This relates to the tendency for an elevated bulge of water, generated by meteorological conditions and separate from the tide, to arrive a few hours either side of tidal high water.

To begin by looking at Tide data for July 2015-2023 for the dates 1^st, 15^th and 30^th of the month. The chart below shows the Highest Tide Value for the dates mentioned.

The chart shows fairly regular tide heights for the years and dates selected. With the most noticeable features being the slight dips in tide levels in 2016, 2020 and 2023, which seem to occur uniformly on the 15^th of the month. However, it seems that there is nothing particularly significant about the 15^th of the month, as the higher values for tide heights for 2018 and 2021, occurred on the 15^th of July for both these years. It is noticeable that highest tide value occurred on 15 July 2021, in same year that saw exceptionally high tides for January 2021.

Additional data for surge values for 2023 on the dates mentioned above has been collected alongside tide heights for these dates, and this data includes the tide values above.

Consideration of Tidal levels and surge are useful to provide a snapshot of noticeable trends over time. As the basic data collected can provide a backdrop to observations or events on the coast. Additionally, these considerations can help to identify any significant alterations in the patterns of the ever-changing, ever-restless North Sea.