NOAA To Eliminate Printed Tide And Current Tables

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that beginning in 2021, it will be eliminating the paper publications of the annual Tide Tables and Tidal Current Tables. All NOAA Tide Predictions and NOAA Current Predictions will continue to be available online in electronic form.

The NOAA website says, "The change from print to online tables allows us to modernize this long-standing product by bringing it into the digital age. Online predictions are more accurate and up to date than what is provided in the annual printed tables."

The online services will provide capabilities the printed publications cannot, which will better meet a variety of different user needs. Visit NOAA's Tides & Currents website to access NOAA tide predictions, or NOAA's Tide & Currents Map for current predictions by region. NOAA’s tide and current predictions include all U.S. coastal stations and some islands in the Pacific and Caribbean.

Alternatively, if you have a smartphone, you can have all that data available in the palm of your hand by downloading the free BoatUS App for iOS and Android.

"The BoatUS App makes it easy for all boaters to access tide forecasts for their favorite boating locations quickly and easily," said Mike Vatalaro, BoatUS digital innovation manager. "Creating a free account lets you save up to five locations and select the exact tide station you prefer as your reference point for each. You can also get weather buoy data so you can see current conditions on the water."

Since World War II, U.S. Coast Guard regulations required that all commercial vessels operating in U.S. waters must have copies of the annual tide and tidal current tables for their area aboard. A change in the policy now allows electronic tide and tidal current predictions to meet carriage requirements.