Natal tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 01:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Sao Paulo local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sat 16 May (range 2.5m). Next neap on Thu 21 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Natal sits at the northeastern corner of Brazil, where the coastline pivots from a northward to an eastward bearing. At this latitude the city is approximately 7,400 km from Dakar — the closest South American city to the African coast. Tides here are semidiurnal, running two high and two low waters in each 24-hour cycle. DHN/FEMAR data records a mean tidal range of approximately 2.6 m above LAT (Lowest Astronomical Tide) for the Natal gauge. This is a mesotidal coast. The 2–4 m range category means tidal state is visible in how much beach is exposed: at a typical low tide, the foreshore widens considerably, exposing sandbanks and shallow reef structures that disappear well before high water. Spring tides, occurring around new and full moon, push that range toward its upper limit. Natal's beaches, including Praia do Forte (backed by the 17th-century Forte dos Reis Magos) and Praia de Ponta Negra to the south, change character through the tidal cycle. The Morro do Careca, a tall dune that drops directly to the sea at Ponta Negra, is most photogenic at low water when a wider section of sand separates the dune base from the shoreline. The Forte dos Reis Magos, built on a reef platform exposed at low tide, was positioned deliberately by Portuguese settlers to take advantage of tidal exposure — the reef provides a natural defensive perimeter for part of the tidal cycle. At low water you can walk the reef approach; at high water the moat effect is restored. For offshore activities — boat tours to the Maracajaú reef system, 60 km north — operators check tide and current state. The reef is a federally protected área de proteção ambiental; snorkelling access is timed to low tide when the coral heads are shallowest and clearest. Tidal data for Natal is published by DHN (Diretoria de Hidrografia e Navegação) and accessible through FEMAR. Open-Meteo Marine predictions shown here carry a typical accuracy of ±45 minutes on timing and ±0.2–0.3 m on height; for navigation and commercial operators, use official DHN tables.