King tides

The term king tide has no scientific definition – in popular usage it refers to any high tide well above average height. The popular concept is that the king tides are the higher high waters which occur around Christmas time. Equally high tides occur in the winter months, but these are at night and not as obvious as those at Christmas which generally occur during the day.

View the highest tides predictions for 2025.

Queensland has a relatively large and variable tidal range, for example:

• 7.18m at Hay Point
• 6.62m at Mackay
• 4.85m at Karumba
• 4.87m at Gladstone
• 3.94m at Thursday Island
• 3.57m at Cairns
• 2.78m at Brisbane
• 2.21m on the Sunshine Coast.

The king tides are no more than the very highest tides that occur at each place. They:

• occur naturally and regularly
• are predicted in the tide book
• are not an everyday occurrence.

In a lunar month the highest tides occur at the time of the new moon and full moon (when the gravitational forces of the sun and moon are in line). These are called spring tides and they occur about every 14 days.

In any 1 year there will be 2 spring tides that are the highest, 1 during summer and 1 during winter. These are referred to as king tides. The king tides occur because of the combined influence of a number of astronomical factors related to the sun and the moon (and their alignments) and the gravitational attraction they each have on the water surface of the Earth.

The earth moves around the sun in an elliptical orbit that takes a little over 365 days to complete. The sun has an influence on the tides. Its gravitational force is greatest when the earth is closest to the sun (perihelion – early January) and least when the earth is furthest from the sun (aphelion – early July).

The moon has a larger effect on the tides than the sun. The moon moves around the earth in an elliptical orbit that takes about 29 days to complete. The gravitational force is greatest when the moon is closest to the earth (perigee) and least when it is furthest from the earth (apogee – about 2 weeks after perigee).

The king tides occur when the earth, moon and sun are aligned at perigee and perihelion. The combined effect of the moon's phase and the varying gravitational forces of the sun and moon result in the highest of the spring tides occurring during the summer months of December, January and February and also in the winter months of June, July and August.

During normal weather conditions, the height of the king tides will be similar from year to year. However, in abnormal weather conditions (severe storms or cyclones) the low air pressures and strong winds at these times can elevate the sea level above the expected height.

Highest tides for year 2025

Place	Highest Summer Tides Date Time Height	Highest Winter Tides Date Time Height
Gold Coast Seaway HAT 1.97m	06/12/2025 09:00 1.96m	27/05/2025 20:34 2.01m 28/05/2025 21:25 2.01m
Brisbane Bar HAT 2.78m	06/12/2025 10:26 2.73m	27/05/2025 21:59 2.75m
Mooloolaba HAT 2.21m	06/12/2025 08:56 2.15m	27/05/2025 20:30 2.19m
Noosa Head HAT 2.35m	06/12/2025 08:48 2.29m	27/05/2025 20:19 2.36m
Urangan HAT 4.33m	28/02/2025 08:57 4.13m 05/12/2025 08:43 4.16m 06/12/2025 09:30 4.14m	27/05/2025 21:05 4.13m
K'gari (Waddy Point) HAT 2.42m	06/12/2025 08:40 2.43m	28/05/2025 21:14 2.37m
Bundaberg (Burnett Heads) HAT 3.68m	28/02/2025 08:48 3.48m 05/12/2025 08:30 3.49m 06/12/2025 09:21 3.50m	27/05/2025 20:54 3.48m
Gladstone HAT 4.87m	28/02/2025 09:29 4.66m	28/04/2025 21:47 4.66m 27/05/2025 21:32 4.64m
Port Alma HAT 5.96m	28/02/2025 09:29 5.74m	28/04/2025 21:45 5.69m 27/05/2025 21:36 5.64m
Rosslyn Bay HAT 5.21m	28/02/2025 09:17 4.99m	27/05/2025 21:27 4.92m
Hay Point HAT 7.18m	28/02/2025 11:00 6.89m	27/05/2025 23:11 6.81m
Mackay Outer Harbour HAT 6.62m	28/02/2025 11:02 6.35m	27/05/2025 23:13 6.29m
Shute Harbour HAT 4.39m	28/02/2025 10:54 4.13m 05/12/2025 10:48 4.18m 06/12/2025 11:37 4.16m	27/05/2025 23:12 4.19m
Bowen HAT 3.77m	27/02/2025 09:27 3.59m	25/06/2025 22:28 3.56m
Abbot Point HAT 3.62m	27/02/2025 09:14 3.45m	25/06/2025 22:10 3.40m
Cape Ferguson HAT 3.84m	28/02/2025 09:09 3.74m	25/06/2025 21:30 3.62m
Townsville HAT 4.22m	28/02/2025 09:13 4.01m	25/06/2025 21:35 3.86m
Lucinda Offshore HAT 4.06m	28/02/2025 09:17 3.87m	25/06/2025 21:42 3.72m
Clump Point HAT 3.71m	28/02/2025 09:16 3.55m	25/06/2025 21:37 3.41m
Mourilyan Harbour HAT 3.58m	28/02/2025 09:17 3.44m	27/05/2025 21:42 3.29m 25/06/2025 21:42 3.29m
Cairns HAT 3.57m	28/02/2025 09:30 3.41m	25/06/2025 21:53 3.28m
Port Douglas HAT 3.40m	28/02/2025 09:19 3.27m	25/06/2025 21:40 3.13m
Twin Island HAT 3.88m	28/02/2025 12:19 3.68m 05/12/2025 12:24 3.68m	23/07/2025 23:46 3.71m
Thursday Island HAT 3.94m	12/01/2025 12:14 3.77m 09/02/2025 11:25 3.77m	24/07/2025 00:26 3.56m
Goods Island HAT 4.15m	08/02/2025 11:15 4.14m
Booby Island HAT 4.43m	07/02/2025 10:47 4.43m
Weipa (Humbug Point) HAT 3.33m	31/01/2025 17:16 3.22m
Amrun (Boyd Point) HAT 3.32m	31/01/2025 16:36 3.25m
Karumba HAT 4.85m	14/01/2025 20:14 4.78m
Mornington Island HAT 3.95m	13/01/2025 20:32 3.87m

Download a copy of the highest tides for 2025.