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 2024.

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 2024

Place Highest Summer Tides
Date Time Height
Highest Winter Tides
Date Time Height
Gold Coast Seaway
HAT 1.97m
10/02/2024 08:41 1.92m
11/02/2024 09:24 1.92m
09/05/2024 21:26 1.87m
06/06/2024 20:24 1.87m
22/07/2024 21:17 1.87m
Brisbane Bar
HAT 2.78m
11/02/2024 10:45 2.77m 20/08/2024 22:15 2.68m
Mooloolaba
HAT 2.21m
10/02/2024 08:31 2.19m
11/02/2024 09:15 2.19m
08/05/2024 20:30 2.10m
09/05/2024 21:16 2.10m
22/07/2024 21:08 2.10m
20/08/2024 20:45 2.10m
Noosa Head
HAT 2.35m
10/02/2024 08:29 2.33m 08/05/2024 20:20 2.27m
Urangan
HAT 4.33m
11/02/2024 09:47 4.24m 20/08/2024 21:20 4.14m
Fraser Island (Waddy Point)
HAT 2.42m
10/02/2024 08:17 2.35m
11/02/2024 09:02 2.35m
09/05/2024 21:07 2.27m
Bundaberg (Burnett Heads)
HAT 3.68m
11/02/2024 09:39 3.60m 20/08/2024 21:10 3.45m
Gladstone
HAT 4.87m
11/02/2024 10:18 4.79m 20/08/2024 21:52 4.60m
Port Alma
HAT 5.96m
11/02/2024 10:22 5.87m 20/08/2024 21:55 5.66m
Rosslyn Bay
HAT 5.21m
10/02/2024 09:26 5.13m
11/02/2024 10:10 5.13m
20/08/2024 21:41 4.93m
Hay Point
HAT 7.18m
10/02/2024 11:09 7.08m 20/08/2024 23:26 6.84m
Mackay Outer Harbour
HAT 6.62m
10/02/2024 11:12 6.54m 20/08/2024 23:28 6.29m
Shute Harbour
HAT 4.39m
10/02/2024 11:03 4.33m 19/08/2024 22:40 4.08m
Bowen
HAT 3.77m
10/02/2024 10:15 3.72m
09/03/2024 09:08 3.72m
19/08/2024 21:51 3.49m
Abbot Point
HAT 3.62m
10/02/2024 10:02 3.58m
09/03/2024 08:55 3.58m
19/08/2024 21:36 3.36m
Cape Ferguson
HAT 3.84m
10/03/2024 08:53 3.90m 17/09/2024 20:26 3.62m
Townsville
HAT 4.22m
10/03/2024 08:57 4.18m 17/09/2024 20:30 3.90m
Lucinda Offshore
HAT 4.06m
10/03/2024 09:02 4.03m 17/09/2024 20:36 3.74m
Clump Point
HAT 3.71m
09/03/2024 08:26 3.69m
10/03/2024 09:01 3.69m
17/09/2024 20:35 3.41m
Mourilyan Harbour
HAT 3.58m
09/03/2024 08:28 3.57m
10/03/2024 09:02 3.57m
17/09/2024 20:35 3.31m
Cairns
HAT 3.57m
10/03/2024 09:16 3.55m 19/08/2024 21:21 3.28m
17/09/2024 20:49 3.28m
Port Douglas
HAT 3.40m
09/03/2024 08:29 3.41m
10/03/2024 09:04 3.41m
17/09/2024 20:38 3.15m
Twin Island
HAT 3.88m
10/02/2024 12:33 3.82m
09/03/2024 11:30 3.82m
10/03/2024 12:07 3.82m
20/08/2024 00:01 3.73m
Thursday Island
HAT 3.94m
09/02/2024 12:34 3.82m
10/02/2024 13:13 3.82m
Goods Island
HAT 4.15m
18/02/2024 10:43 4.05m
Booby Island
HAT 4.43m
20/01/2024 11:29 4.34m
17/02/2024 10:09 4.34m
18/02/2024 10:35 4.34m
Weipa (Humbug Point)
HAT 3.33m
11/02/2024 17:07 3.30m
Amrun (Boyd Point)
HAT 3.32m
11/02/2024 16:28 3.30m
Karumba
HAT 4.85m
13/01/2024 21:24 4.85m
Mornington Island
HAT 3.95m
13/01/2024 23:00 3.89m

Download a copy of the highest tides for 2024.

Last updated
26 October 2023