Waxing moon builds toward bigger tide swings on the Oregon Coast

What's next

Tides swing through a full cycle overnight: a low near 6:11 PM gives way to a high by midnight, with another low arriving by 5:26 AM Wednesday. That kind of moderate swing, paired with this week's Waxing Gibbous moon, typically sharpens current at each tide change — a better window to plan around than the slack middle of a stage.

As the moon builds toward full over the next few days, expect the swings to grow, which should keep tide-change windows the more productive stretches through the weekend. The gap between this week's two temperature readings is also worth tracking: as the warmer read-point cools toward the 50s over the coming weeks, that's the standard seasonal cue for the fall pattern to set in along this stretch.

This week's forum activity suggests continued boat traffic around Buoy 10 and the Garibaldi/Nehalem stretch into the weekend.

Context

Late September on the Oregon Coast sits in the seasonal transition from summer into fall, when water temperatures typically begin easing down from summer highs and the bigger tidal swings that come with a waxing moon start to matter more for trip timing. This week's readings, in the high 50s to mid 60s depending on location, fall within the normal range for the calendar. Nothing about this week's conditions points to an early or late shift from the typical seasonal pattern.