Tampa Bay Entrance
Egmont Key / Fort De Soto · Gulf coast
Check Tampa Bay Entrance nowNWS advisories, tides and ebb, sun and moon. Free, no sign-up.Current in the inlet
NOAA publishes current predictions for this inlet (Tampa Bay Entrance (Egmont Channel), station ACT8411). The ebb sets toward 298° (northwest); typical peak ebb 1.4 kn, up to 2.5 kn at spring tides.
Ebb against swell on the bar
Swell and wind from the northwest 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
- Deep ship channel: large commercial vessels.
Hour by hour, 48 hours ahead
The app rates every hour of the next 48 for Tampa Bay Entrance: 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 GMZ853
- NWS marine forecast, zone GMZ830
- NOAA tide predictions: Egmont Key, Tampa Bay
- NOAA current predictions: Tampa Bay Entrance (Egmont Channel)
- NDBC buoy 42098 (waves, 17 km away)
- Wind observations: station MTBF1
- Airport weather: KSPG, KPIE