Pensacola Pass
Pensacola / Perdido Key · Gulf coast
Check Pensacola Pass nowNWS advisories, tides and ebb, sun and moon. Free, no sign-up.Current in the inlet
NOAA publishes current predictions for this inlet (Pensacola Bay entrance, midchannel, station ACT8716). The ebb sets toward 256° (west); typical peak ebb 2.1 kn, up to 3.5 kn at spring tides.
Ebb against swell on the bar
Swell and wind from the west meet the ebb head on: waves get shorter and steeper and can break on the bar. The same swell on the flood is usually far easier. The app compares the hour-by-hour current with the forecast waves and wind to rate each hour.
Bar depth used to estimate wave steepening: about 13 m (43 ft). Sandbars move: this is not a chart and never says where to cross.
Local notes
- Navy and commercial traffic.
Hour by hour, 48 hours ahead
The app rates every hour of the next 48 for Pensacola Pass: Lower risk, Caution, Hazardous or Extreme, with waves on the bar, wind, current and the inlet map. Free trial of Pro for 7 days.
Data for this inlet
- NWS marine forecast, zone GMZ650
- NWS marine forecast, zone GMZ634
- NOAA tide predictions: Fort McRee Breakwater
- NOAA current predictions: Pensacola Bay entrance, midchannel
- NDBC buoy 42012 (waves, 39 km away)
- Wind observations: station PCLF1
- Airport weather: KNPA, KPNS