Every season living on the Gulf Coast reveals its surprises and interesting natural phenomena. Recently, my social media feed was ‘flooded” with photos of extreme low tides in local bays, bayous, and even the Gulf. The water was so low in some places that people could easily walk 200 yards offshore onto dry land that is typically submerged. The timing also corresponded with some extremely low temperatures—icy below-freezing mornings with thermostat readings in the low 20’s. So, what’s going on?

A couple of factors played into these extreme conditions. First, winter tides tend to be much lower than in warmer seasons, due to the position of our planet in space. As we all learned in science class, the gravitational pulls of the moon (primarily) and sun (secondarily) dictate tidal cycles. In winter, we are the farthest away from the sun as we are during the year, so that pull is weaker and the tides are noticeably lower.

But the biggest player in these “blowout tides” was tied to an extreme cold front that came through in early February. The freezing weather brought strong and continuous north winds, which physically pushed the water south and away from shorelines. Over the same timeframe that extreme low tide observations were noted around Pensacola Bay, news stories from Mobile and New Orleans highlighted the same phenomenon. Also known as a “reverse storm surge,” this movement of water offshore looks a lot like what happens before a tsunami when waters are sucked offshore. Thankfully, these blowout tides aren’t nearly so dangerous when the water moves back in place.

The mudflats remaining during a blowout tide can beach boats—fishermen in south Louisiana were stranded for several days due to the extreme ebb tides. Locally, observers found small fish, jellyfish, and even an octopus stuck on the sea bottom where tides left them exposed. Blowout tides are not unique to the Gulf region—news abounds of similar experiences and impacts to shipping all along the east coast of the United States and beyond.

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