The highest tide next week is due at 9.22 pm on Tuesday at a predicted 39.41 feet, and the low water at 3.47 am is expected to drop to just under one foot.
However, as high pressure is expected to move in from Monday, the low tides could be lower than expected due to atmospheric pressure forcing down the water. High tides, meanwhile, may not be as high as predicted due to the effects of the high pressure.
Jersey Met forecaster John Season said: ‘We usually gets good tides in September but this year they are exceptional and probably some of the highest tides recorded in recent times, bearing in mind that sea levels are rising.
Spring tides which occur every month around the time of the full moon are determined by the alignment of the sun and the moon.
‘The height or lowness of a tide is also determined by weather conditions.If we have a high pressure, then what that does is drive the low tide even lower.’
Bob Tompkins, local co-ordinator of the UK conservation charity Marinelife, said that the big spring tides would provide an excellent opportunity for exploring the foreshore.
‘The five days from Sunday to Thursday see tides in excess of 11 metres (36 feet) on the high water, and low waters below a metre (39.3 in), so providing a great opportunity to explore the gullies and beaches along the south coast.
‘With such a rich and diverse range of marine life in Jersey’s waters the world is literally our oyster,’ he said.
This year has been exceptional for tides around the 39-feet (12-metre ) mark. Up to today a total of 11 39-plus-feet tides has been recorded, with another nine predicted before the end of the year.
The biggest of 2015’s super tides is due on 29 September, when the depth of water at the heads of St Helier Harbour is predicted to rise to 40.03 feet at 8.20 pm, with a low of .39 feet at 2.21 am.
The highest tide in Jersey since records began was at 8.15 am on 10 October 2008, with a height of 40.45 feet.
The Bay of Fundy on the Atlantic coast of North America, between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and the US state of Maine, is known for having the highest tidal range in the world. Spring tides here have reached 47.5 feet (14.5 metres).
Mr Tompkins, who is also a low-water guide, says venturing to low water is a safe activity as long as tide times are respected, and well worth a walk of more than 1.5 miles to see marine life such as daisy anemones, sea slugs and sand eels.
However, he added a word of caution.
‘There are a great many jellyfish about at the moment and lots of these will be stranded on the low waters, so unless you know which species they are, then it is best to leave them well alone. Of course, the most important thing is to know when the low waters are and to keep safe,’ he said.
