Topics
Growing
Tides · Currents · Safety
Learn · Alaska Coastal
Short, purpose-built explainers that answer the 'why' behind the numbers — what causes tides, how Cook Inlet's extreme range works, why minus tides matter, and how storm surge combines with astronomical tides.
Why Alaska has 500+ NOAA prediction points but fewer than 30 permanent gauges — and what that means for your data.
How tide predictions differ from live water levels, and what storm surge, wind, and ice do to those numbers.
Why the upper inlet sees the largest tidal range in the US — and how that affects mariners, clam diggers, and photographers.
What the curve means, how to identify high and low water, slack water windows, and reference datums like MLLW.
When tides go below zero MLLW, extreme terrain is exposed — and extreme currents, mud hazards, and clamming windows open up.
How low-pressure systems, Aleutian storms, and Bering Sea fetch combine with predicted high tides to produce dangerous surge events.
Learn by doing — open any station page to see the live tide chart, condition cards, and moon/sun data that illustrate these concepts in real time.