Annapolis, MD tide times

Annapolis sits at the confluence of the Severn River and the upper Chesapeake Bay, 45 km south of Baltimore. It is one of the oldest continuously occupied English settlements in North America and claims the largest recreational sailing fleet on the East Coast. The bay here is profoundly microtidal: mean range is approximately 0.4 m MLLW. That figure is not a typo — the entire tidal swing from mean low water to mean high water is less than half a metre, roughly the depth of a dinner plate.

What governs water levels in Annapolis is wind and barometric pressure, not the moon. A sustained northeast wind at 20 knots for 24 hours can pile 0.5–0.6 m of water against the western shore, flooding the historic City Dock — known locally as Ego Alley — and the adjacent streets of the historic district. A deep low-pressure system passing to the northeast can blow water out of the upper bay, stranding boats in their slips. Understanding the relationship between wind direction, storm track, and bay water levels is as important here as reading tide tables.

The astronomical tide is nonetheless real and visible. City Dock floods and drains on a roughly 0.3–0.4 m cycle, and the water line against the historic brick seawall traces the semidiurnal rhythm in slow motion. Anglers fishing the Severn River mouth and the Eastern Shore oyster bars near Annapolis report that the tide turn — particularly the first of the ebb — concentrates striped bass in the shallow coves and points where baitfish are momentarily trapped. The transition is subtle compared to ocean tides, but the fish respond to it.

The US Naval Academy occupies the point at the Severn River mouth, fronting directly onto the Chesapeake. Academy Bridge and the Severn River provide the approach for sailing regattas and Chesapeake race series that make Annapolis one of the busiest recreational boating harbours on the East Coast. The Annapolis Yacht Club and six other clubs operate from the harbour; the autumn sailboat show (October) and spring powerboat show draw thousands of visitors for whom tidal knowledge is practical, not academic.

Blue crab is Chesapeake identity. The Annapolis waterfront's crab houses operate through summer on the June–October season, and the crabs themselves are most active in the shallows on warm water ebb tides when they move from grass beds into open bottom. Recreational crabbing from the City Dock and the Route 50 bridge causeway is productive from July through September; low-to-mid water exposes the most structure.

For kayakers and paddlers, the Severn River upstream of Annapolis is one of the most accessible flatwater paddles in the DC–Baltimore corridor — protected from bay chop, forested in places, and non-tidal enough that the current is wind-driven rather than tidal. The harbour itself requires vigilance for commercial ferry and boat traffic.

Tide predictions for Annapolis come from Open-Meteo Marine and reflect the bay's real tidal cycle, but with the caveat that wind setup and surge — often larger than the tide itself — are not captured in standard tide predictions. Uncertainty is ±45 minutes on timing and ±0.2–0.3 m on height. NOAA CO-OPS station 8575512 (Annapolis) provides the authoritative verified record and includes real-time water level data that captures wind-driven surges as they occur.