Why day and night don't decide how high the tide gets
A tide is a slow, regular rise and fall driven mainly by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun, plus the way water (or air) sloshes around in a particular basin. Because the Moon takes about 24 hours and 50 minutes to come back to roughly the same position over a given spot, high tides drift later each day relative to the clock. That drift means a high tide that arrives at noon one week can arrive near midnight a few weeks later. Day and night are therefore not a reliable marker of tide height.
The same logic applies to tides high in the atmosphere. In the mesopause region — the cold upper layer of the atmosphere roughly 80–90 km up — researchers used lidar temperature measurements taken across full day-night cycles to study oscillations with daily and half-daily periods [1]. They compared the observed timing and strength of these oscillations with model predictions. The study examined tidal behavior across the whole day but did not report that nighttime tides were consistently stronger or higher than daytime ones [1].
What the atmospheric measurements actually show
At low-latitude E-region heights — a layer of the upper atmosphere where charged particles and neutral winds interact — another study analyzed tidal and planetary waves in neutral winds and temperature [2]. The measurements were mostly taken during the daytime, so the authors filled in the nighttime gaps with assumed data rather than leaving them blank, noting that this was better than treating the night as missing [2]. That approach tells us about the overall tidal pattern, but it means the nighttime values in that analysis were partly constructed, not directly observed. It is not evidence that real nighttime tides run higher than daytime ones [2].
When 'tide' means something an animal responds to
Tides also matter to animals, and one study looked at how tidal height and time of day shape the calls of plainfin midshipman toadfish [3]. The researchers compared vocalization patterns between night and day and tested whether call rates rose with tidal height [3]. This is a study of behavior tied to tides, not a measurement showing that the tide itself is higher at night. It does not establish that nighttime tides are consistently higher than daytime tides [3].
The practical takeaway
If you are planning around a tide — for fishing, boating, or watching coastal wildlife — check a local tide table rather than assuming night means higher water. The timing of high and low tides shifts through the day and depends on your location, and the evidence supplied here gives no support for a consistent nighttime advantage in tide height [1][2][3].
The honest state of the evidence is that these studies were not designed to test a day-versus-night tide-height rule, and none of them found one [1][2][3]. A question about whether tides are higher at night would need measurements that directly compare matched daytime and nighttime tides at the same place — which is not what these papers set out to do.
Sources used in this answer
Tides in the mesopause region over Fort Collins, Colorado (41 N, 105 W) based on lidar temperature observations covering full diurnal cycles
Lidar temperature observations across full day-night cycles over Fort Collins were used to compare mesopause tidal phases and amplitudes with model predictions, but the study did not find nighttime tides consistently higher than daytime tides.
An analysis of tidal and planetary waves in the neutral winds and temperature observed at low‐latitude E region heights
Tidal and planetary waves in low-latitude E-region neutral winds and temperature were analyzed using mostly daytime data with assumed nighttime values filled in, and the study did not show nighttime tides consistently exceeding daytime tides.
Temporal and Tidal Rhythms Shape Courtship and Agonistic Calls in Plainfin Midshipman Toadfish
Plainfin midshipman toadfish call patterns were compared between night and day and linked to tidal height, but the study did not establish that nighttime tides are consistently higher than daytime tides.