High Tides on the Thames at Putney

warnings for Putney Embankment

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There are several places in London where the Thames regularly floods riverside roads or paths.  One of these is the Embankment in Putney, upstream from Putney Bridge, where any tide of about 7 metres or more (height measured at London Bridge) will result in parts of the road being flooded.  The table below lists all the dates for this year on which the high tide is 7 metres or more, when care is needed when parking vehicles on this road.

The table is meant as a guide only.  Flooding may occur at other times, as river levels are affected by previous heavy rain or wind conditions in the North Sea.  While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this data no warranty is provided, and we cannot accept any responsibility for accident, damage or injury caused through the use of the tide tables.

For more information about tides, see below.

The first column of the table below lists the days on which tides of 7m or more are expected.  Some flooding of the roadway should be expected on those dates, usually between 2.00 and 6.00, both a.m. and p.m.  The other columns give more precise predictions for the highest tides. 

The times in the table are calculated for Putney Bridge. All times are local (GMT or BST according to the season). The tide heights are the predictions for London Bridge.

7-metre tides on these days, with some flooding of road likely at Putney Embankment:

Unusually high tides on these days:

2006

date

time

height

January 1 - 4, 30 - 31

Tues 31

15:49

7.3

       
February 1 - 4, 27 - 28 Wed 1 16:36 7.3
  Thurs 2 17:22 7.3
  Tues 28 14:45 7.3
March 1 - 5, 29 - 31 Wed 1 15.31 7.5
  Thu 2 03:.41 7.3
  Thu 2 16:14 7.4
  Fri 3 04:22 7.3
  Fri 3 16:56 7.3
  Sat 4 05:02 7.3
  Wed 29 15:24 7.4
  Thurs 30 03:33 7.3
  Thurs 30 16.:07 7.5
  Fri 31 04:15 7.4
  Fri 31 16:48 7.4
April 1 – 3; 26 - 30 Sat 1 04:56 7.4
  Sun 2 05.36 7.3
  Thurs 27 14:58 7.3
  Fri 28 03:07 7.3
  Fri 28 15:41 7.3
  Sat 29 03:50 7.3
May 1; 26 - 29      
June (none)      
July 13 - 15      
August 10 - 14 Fri 11 04:28 7.3
  Sat 12 05:13 7.3
September 8 – 12; 22 Fri 8 03:21 7.3
  Sat 9 04:06 7.5
  Sat 9 16:16 7.3
  Sun 10 04:49 7.4
  Sun 10 16:57 7.3
  Mon 11 05:31 7.3
  Mon 11 17:38 7.3
October 6 – 11 Sat 7 02:57 7.4
  Sat 7 15:06 7.3
  Sun 8 03:39 7.5
  Sun 8 15:48 7.4
  Mon 9 04:21 7.4
  Mon 9 16:30 7.4
  Tues 10 17:12 7.3
November 4 - 9 Sun 5 01:29 7.3
  Sun 5 13:38 7.3
  Mon 6 02:13 7.4
  Mon 6 14:23 7.4
  Tues 7 02:55 7.3
  Tues 7 15:08 7.3
December 4 - 6      
Conversion from London Bridge tide times

The times of Thames tides in newspapers etc. are usually given for London Bridge. To obtain the time of high/low tide at Putney Bridge, add the following to the London Bridge time:

High tide + 31 min.

Low tide + 1 hr. 38 min.

The table above lists only the highest tides of the year. There are a number of ways of obtaining further information about tides as they affect Putney:

There are a number of ways of obtaining further information about tides as they affect Putney:

1.  The booklet 2006 London Bridge and Thames Estuary Tide Tables is available at Chas Newens Marine shop on the Embankment, price £1.20. (Note: this is based on data from the Proudman Laboratory, which differs slightly from the above figures. Tidal prediction is not an exact science!)

don't let this happen to you....

2. Tidal predictions are also available online at the web sites of the Port of London Authority and the UK Hydrographic Office, part of the Admiralty.

3. The PLA site also provides live information of the actual tide height compared to the prediction. If you are interested in a particular tide, it is worth checking the Tide Gauge for Tower Pier. You will see a number of “metres from prediction”, showing how much higher the actual level is (or lower if the amount is negative), normally not more than + or - 0.5 metre. If the level is more than about 1 metre below prediction, this probably means that the Thames Barrier has been raised for our protection (as has happened 22 times in the last three years, most recently in February 2005).

4. This information has been provided by Richard Jennings.  He has full details of all high and low tides for Putney, and is willing to provide further information or answer queries.  To contact him, email richardj3@blueyonder.co.uk .        

February 17, 2005