Tides

Tonight's full moon rises over Baltimore at 5:55 p.m., though clouds may spoil the view. The first full moon after the winter solstice was once known as the Moon After Yule, or the Old Moon. It seems larger than usual because it is just 17 hours past perigee (and closest approach to Earth in 2009). Watch for high tides. We'll have 13 full moons this year, with two in December - on the 2nd and 31st.

Way back in early February, Frank (not enough babies are named "Frank" anymore) Poole of Dundalk wrote to ask about tidal measurements: "I live on the water off Bear Creek and ... I watch the tides. What does the `height' measurement mean on the tidal charts?" Tide forecasts in the U.S. are usually measured in feet above something called "mean lower low water," or MLLW. That's the lower of the two daily low tides, averaged over 19 years. It's an average, so forecasts might be negative.

A friend recently suggested a sure cure for stress, and this is a man with a job (head of a paramedic service) where the stress levels tend to redline quite often.What you do, he said, is check into the Tides Inn on a gorgeous fall weekend. Then when evening comes, order a cocktail and wander out to the veranda and watch the golden-reddish glow slowly drain from the sky over Carter's Creek and the scenic Rappahannock River near Irvington, Va.Then sit there over another cocktail, he said, and watch the lights in the big waterfront homes wink on and the boats with their running lamps silently ply the darkened channel.

Floyd is coming and he looks wild and wet.Weather forecasters urged Marylanders yesterday to prepare for high winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding tomorrow as a weakening Floyd batters its way north across Virginia and central Maryland.Tropical storm force winds of 40 to 50 mph -- with hurricane force gusts -- are expected, more than enough to down trees, block roads and cause widespread power outages, the National Weather Service said.Rainfall could reach 8 inches in places as the storm passes, and surging tides could flood waterfront properties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.Late yesterday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted that Floyd's track would carry it inland across central North Carolina tomorrow morning, to central Virginia by afternoon, and across central Maryland by tomorrow night.

We acknowledge that the moon, that silver orb of poetry, song and madness, affects the tides. But we rarely consider (beyond the romantic surge some of us feel during the full moon) that it might affect anything else. Yet oysters transplanted from Long Island Sound in 1954 to a lab in Evanston, Ill., maintained their valve openings and closings according to the tidal rhythms of their place of origin for a time - until, still confined to a laboratory, they began to synchronize to the local lunar-tidal cycle.

MARBURY -- Denny Brauer has won every major bass fishing honor and a slew of top tournaments during his long career. But this week in the B.A.S.S. Kmart Top 150 tournament, Brauer managed to surprise ever himself.After a slow start in the first Brauer day of the tournament, Brauer figured out a small creek on the Virginia side of the Potomac River and worked it for 58 pounds, 11 ounces of bass and a victory in the sport's season opener.Brauer clinched the victory with a five-bass limit, weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces.

OCEAN CITY -- Like an unwelcomed guest, the slow-moving Great Northeaster of 1998 ended its two-day visit to Maryland yesterday, leaving flooded streets, waterlogged homes and eroded beaches in its wake.Strong winds and high tides continued to smash Ocean City and the Delaware Coast yesterday, forcing evacuations from some resorts, closing roads, shaking mobile homes from their foundations and deepening the channel in Assateague Island that was formed by the storm."This is the worst I've ever seen it," said Bill Rodrigues of Cape Isle of Wight near Ocean City, as he shielded his face from the rain and pulled himself through thigh-high water in hip waders, in a community where most neighbors had evacuated.

100 years agoThe Galesville public school enjoys the distinction of having as principal, Mrs. Carrie Weedon, the only married teacher in the public schools of Anne Arundel County. -- The Sun, Oct. 5, 1898.The Annapolis City Council voted down a resolution condemning the recent lynching of Wright Smith, who was shot by a mob Wednesday. The case is being heard before Coroner Julian Brewer and a jury. -- The Sun, Oct. 10, 1898.Lafayette Day will be observed at St. John's College and in the public schools in honor of the visits of Lafayette to Annapolis.

Meet Warrick DunnTampa Bay Buccaneer running back Warrick Dunn is only 5' 8" tall, but so what! "If you're faster than everyone on the field, you can overcome size with speed," he says.Warrick was unstoppable last season. He rushed for 978 yards and earned Rookie of the Year honors.Warrick is also unstoppable when it comes to helping others. He talks to students about the importance of education and has helped buy homes for low-income single moms.Warrick is a small guy with a very big heart.

Red tides in Florida. Brown tides in Texas and Long Island. From Maine to Alaska, America's coasts are awash in tiny organisms that without warning can turn the water the color of mahogany -- or blood. Some of them also can kill fish and even unsuspecting human consumers of poisoned seafood.Pfiesteria piscicida, the toxic dinoflagellate linked this summer with fish kills or lesions in three Chesapeake Bay tributaries, is the latest of a nasty bunch of microscopic creatures that have been increasingly wreaking havoc in recent years among fishermen and shore dwellers in this country and abroad.

Ocean City was pounded late Thursday by heavy rains and high winds from a severe nor'easter that was causing moderate to heavy flooding from rain and tides. With a high-pressure system blocking its path to the north, the storm was lingering over the resort and dumping large amounts of rain. Chris Strong, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., said the worst of the storm was expected to hit Thursday night and this morning, and then start easing later in the day. "This thing should blow away entirely by the end of Saturday," he said.

A rare combination of persistent winds and a slowed Florida ocean current were the cause of unusually high tides in Maryland and all along the East Coast earlier this summer, scientists say. The two phenomena added several inches to as much as two feet to predicted high and low tides along the mid-Atlantic coast, and drew notice from coastal residents and scientists alike, according to a preliminary study released Monday by the National Oceanic and...

The average player on the Orioles' roster reached the big leagues in 4 1/2 years. Andy Mitchell has been trying for nine. To heck with the numbers, the Baltimore farmhand won't give up. "I know I can pitch up there, and I've got to keep trying," he said. No one has labored longer in the system than Mitchell, who will turn 31 in September. A right-hander who throws submarine-style, he has been stuck at Triple-A for five years. At Norfolk, Va., the Tides roll in and the Tides roll out. Mitchell?

Tonight's full moon rises over Baltimore at 5:55 p.m., though clouds may spoil the view. The first full moon after the winter solstice was once known as the Moon After Yule, or the Old Moon. It seems larger than usual because it is just 17 hours past perigee (and closest approach to Earth in 2009). Watch for high tides. We'll have 13 full moons this year, with two in December - on the 2nd and 31st.

Triple-A Norfolk catcher Omir Santos, 27, said it would be easy to get caught up in the constant excitement around the team regarding players being called up from the Tides to the Orioles. "You always think about it, but you can't think about it that much," Santos said. "Because if you think about [going to the Orioles], you'll mess up here and start doing bad. If you do your work here, someone will sooner or later give you a chance [in the majors]." The native of Toa Baja, Dominican Republic, has taken his own advice since May 4, when he became the Tides' regular catcher after Chris Heintz went on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb.

Norfolk outfielder Luis Terrero hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning Friday night, highlighting a seven-run rally that broke up a 3-3 tie and carried the Tides to a 10-3 victory over Louisville in an International League game. Terrero was one of five Norfolk batters to collect two hits in the win that enabled the up-and-down Tides to end their eight-game road trip with a 2-6 record. However, for one night at least, the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate not only flashed home run power but hitting throughout the lineup.

NORFOLK, VA. -- You'd never know that this time last year fans were embracing the Big Apple and singing "New York, New York" at the end of every game. Now it's all Charm City, crab races on the video screen and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." They even let loose with an "O" during the national anthem. Funny things happen in baseball's offseason. For the Triple-A Norfolk Tides last winter, it meant severing a 38-year relationship with the New York Mets and getting hitched to the Orioles.

Up in Cockeysville, Michael Vito imagines Earth with no moon: "What would happen to the Earth and the ... weather if our moon were totally destroyed?" Assuming Luna simply vanished, and didn't explode and rain moonrocks on us, NASA says ocean tides would be a third as high, and more constant week to week. But they would persist, thanks to the sun's gravity. Earth would spin faster, like Jupiter, shortening the day. Our winds would be stronger and steadier, west to east, bringing less variable weather and better surf.

Way back in early February, Frank (not enough babies are named "Frank" anymore) Poole of Dundalk wrote to ask about tidal measurements: "I live on the water off Bear Creek and ... I watch the tides. What does the `height' measurement mean on the tidal charts?" Tide forecasts in the U.S. are usually measured in feet above something called "mean lower low water," or MLLW. That's the lower of the two daily low tides, averaged over 19 years. It's an average, so forecasts might be negative.

The Orioles have confirmed that their Triple-A affiliate will be based in Norfolk, Va., for at least the next two seasons, but club officials are hesitant to comment publicly until after tomorrow's news conference at the Tides' home ballpark. They don't want to steal the Tides' thunder. I hear the ballpark is in a gorgeous location, with a beautiful view of the water, and will be an easy sell for minor league free agents. The Orioles want a four-year agreement, the maximum allowed, rather than the standard two-year deal.