Live wind at the downtown gauge and where the tide current is in its run — flooding, ebbing, or slack — with the next slack-water windows, from NOAA.
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Tongass Narrows runs the length of Ketchikan and the water is never still. Here's the wind at the downtown gauge and where the tide is in its run — flooding, ebbing, or the slack in between — with the next slack-water windows the fleet times its crossings and dockings to.
The flood is easing to slack water at 10:40 AM.
Wind measured 8:30 AM at the downtown Ketchikan gauge.
| Time | Current | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| 10:40 AM | Slack | turning |
| 1:06 PM | Ebb | 0.1 kn |
| 3:35 PM | Slack | turning |
| 8:02 PM | Flood | 0.8 kn |
| 10:42 PM | Slack | turning |
| Sat 1:35 AM | Ebb | 0.2 kn |
| Sat 4:39 AM | Slack | turning |
| Sat 8:54 AM | Flood | 0.9 kn |
In this channel the flood sets about 310° and the ebb about 120°.
For tide heights — how deep, not how hard it runs — see the tide table.
Why slack matters
Slack water — the pause between flood and ebb — is when the channel runs quietest. Crossings, dockings and tows are often timed to it. The flood and ebb build to their strongest about halfway between two slacks.
Read the water, not just the screen
This isn’t a go/no-go. The current times are NOAA harmonic predictions — astronomical tide only, so a strong wind, a big rain freshet or spring runoff can change what the water actually does. The wind is one gauge’s reading and the channel varies along its length. The skipper decides. In an emergency call 911 and ask for the Coast Guard, or hail the Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16.
Wind and tidal-current predictions from NOAA CO-OPS (tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov), public domain. Checked 8:37 AM.
Source: NOAA CO-OPS (tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov), checked 10 July 2026 (today).