Frequently Asked Questions - Having Problems Accessing Data

Q: The tide predictions on your webpage are out of date. How can I get up-to-date predictions?

The problem you are experiencing is most likely caused by a link or bookmark that you are using to access the daily tide predictions. The present system we use to provide daily tide predictions for locations around the USA provides information for the present calendar year. Around November of each year, we add the daily predictions for the next calendar year. Due to the methods we use to provide annual predictions, each year of predictions is totally separate from any other year of predictions.

If you are using a bookmark you created to access predictions last year, that bookmark will only provide predictions for that year. To access this year's predictions you will need to navigate through the Predictions section of our website. Remember, you will have to go through this process again next year if you create a bookmark to this year's predictions.

Q: I've accessed the Data Resources portion of your website, but when I try to use the retrieval forms I don't get any response. Is your data server timing out, or what is the problem?

In general, the response time to retrieve data using the data retrieval forms is measured in one-tenths of seconds to a few seconds (depending on the user's internet connection and how much data the user requested). However, we have observed that some browsers do not handle returns from cgi-bin programs very well. In particular, the IBM WebExplorer program version 1.01 does not. Versions 1 and 2 of the Netscape browser and various versions of the Mosaic browser for Unix systems both support cgi-binprograms. If you are able to navigate through our pages but when you hit the submit button in the data retrieval forms and your computer just sits there, chances are that your browser is having problems with the cgi-bin scripts. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to correct this issue. You will need to update your browser.

Q: Your inventory form listed some data, but when I tried to use the verified water level form to retrieve the data, I got an error message. What is the problem?

There is a bit of a disconnect between the inventory and what you can actually retrieve from the verified water level form. We will be adding improvements over the next several months to fix some of the problems. The inventory shows a list of data types and a range of data from the first record to the very last record, even if there are breaks in the middle. Also, not all of the data shown in the inventory may be verified. The verified water level form will only return verified data. If there is a mix of verified and unverified data in the time period requested, it returns nothing. So, the larger the time period requested, the more chance the user has of hitting some unverified data and getting nothing. We are working to resolve this problem.