Today's surface current around Camano Island, hour by hour from NOAA's Salish Sea forecast model, which covers Saratoga Passage, Skagit Bay and Port Susan at about 500 m spacing. Drag the slider or press play to watch the tide turn. The pins are NOAA's four tidal-current prediction stations for comparison: PUG1622 (West of Camano Island) is the most representative of Madrona Beach, since it sits on the same side of Rocky Point; PUG1626, just north of the point, shows how differently the current can run on the other side.
The pins and arrows are two separate NOAA predictions: the pins come from tide-table predictions fitted to current-meter measurements at each station, and the arrows from the forecast model. Around here, where currents are weak, they can differ by a few tenths of a knot, and their slack times by an hour or two, so a pin can read "slack" while nearby arrows still show a light current. Tap a pin to see both values side by side.
Speeds in knots. Times are Local Standard/Daylight Time (LST/LDT). Predictions: NOAA CO-OPS Tidal Current Predictions and NOAA NOS SSCOFS.