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NOAA's Port St. Joe tide times wrong?
Posted: August 22nd, 2021, 10:44 am
by pcbayou
Has anyone noticed that NOAA's tide times for Port St. Joe are Central rather than Eastern? I found out when we went scalloping off Cape San Blas. Today for example, the NOAA site
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaat ... 2&legacy=1 says high tide is 9:28 a.m. LDT Tides4Fishing
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-gu ... bay#_tides and the TideAlert app both say 10:28 a.m. LDT. The folks with TideAlert told me NOAA has been using Central time for Port St. Joe for at least 40 years. That one-hour difference is big when you're wading/snorkeling for scallops and trying not to go too deep.
Re: NOAA's Port St. Joe tide times wrong?
Posted: August 22nd, 2021, 1:29 pm
by Red Beard
Once your West of Apalachicola the time goes to central from what I’ve always been told and understand.
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Re: NOAA's Port St. Joe tide times wrong?
Posted: August 22nd, 2021, 2:47 pm
by pcbayou
It’s confusing. Central time switches to Eastern at the Bay/Gulf county line. But then the time line curves away from the coast, splitting Gulf County. So Port St. Joe and Cape San Blas are on Eastern time while Wewahitchka, also in Gulf County, is on Central time. From what I’ve read, Port St. Joe officially switched from Central to Eastern in 1972. Maybe the reason was to be in the same time zone as Apalachicola. Apparently, NOAA has been ignoring the change ever since. But those of us who live near the time line have learned to adjust. The Orlando Sentinel had some fun with the story at one point.
www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-198 ... story.html
Re: NOAA's Port St. Joe tide times wrong?
Posted: August 22nd, 2021, 4:36 pm
by Red Beard
The reason for this is due to the old railroad.
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Re: NOAA's Port St. Joe tide times wrong?
Posted: August 22nd, 2021, 9:26 pm
by squiffynole
Ed Ball got his way. Speaking of Ed Ball many years ago I toured his Southwood mansion southeast of Tallahassee where he had these huge mural paintings of half naked women being carried away on Arabian horseback. Very strange art collection.
Re: NOAA's Port St. Joe tide times wrong?
Posted: August 23rd, 2021, 11:58 am
by pcbayou
Thanks, all, for the comments, the history, and the peek inside Ed Ball's house.
I know most of y'all don't venture west into the Eastern/Central divide very much. It just struck me as odd that NOAA is one hour and 40 years behind. Now I'll know either to adjust NOAA's tide times for fishing and scalloping in St. Joe Bay or Cape San Blas, or find a source that fixes it for me.