Anyone heading to the beaches in Delaware or to the Jersey Shore for the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend or at any point this summer should know how to understand tides and flag warnings to ensure a great beach day.

Here are some tips.

What is today’s tide?

Wonder why you’re the only one setting up your chair and cabana near the water’s edge on a packed beach?

That’s because everyone else knows the tide is coming in and you’ll be under water in an hour or two.

Knowing the tide schedule is essential for a good beach day. And while you can always ask the lifeguards, it’s just as easy to figure it out for yourself.

Tide tables are available online and show the expected four tides each day — two highs, two lows — for most tidal waters.

The tides change roughly every six hours and 12 minutes, which is why the water level at the beach can seem erratic from week to week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tide tables for Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

"There are two main ways you can find information on a tide table. You can either look for the date and time you’d like to know the tides for, or you can look for the type of tide you want (or do not want) to encounter when you get to the beach," read the tide table advice from beach-going resource Swim Guide. "For instance, if you want to go swimming on Saturday afternoon, you can find out when the high and low tides will happen on that day and time.

There are also some visual indicators about the tides if you know how to interpret them.

For example, look for the high point on the beach before the sand slopes toward the water. That’s typically your high-tide mark. If the water’s edge is far away from that point, the tide is likely at its lowest and working its way back up.

Should I go to the beach during high tide or low tide?

It largely depends on your beach-going activity.

"For swimmers, the water is safest during a slack tide, during which the water moves very little. A slack tide happens in the hour preceding or following a high or low tide. Swimmers will also enjoy waves with shorter intervals, which are calmer and less dangerous," read The Swim Guide's website on understanding tides. "For snorkelers and divers, visibility will be best after high slack tide.

"In many places, this tide will occur around mid-afternoon."

The Swim Guide advises that peak swimming conditions occur between high tide and low tide, and boaters should head out during high tide, depending on size of vessel.

"For boaters, high tide is the easiest time to navigate a harbour," according to The Swim Guide. "Higher waters make it possible to bypass underwater barriers like sand bars, rocks, or reefs. On the other hand, low tide will make it easier for a tall boat to safely travel beneath a bridge."

Is it an ocean breeze?

Knowing which the wind is blowing can also make for a better beach day.

A sea breeze, or ocean breeze, carries cooler temperatures off of the water onto land, while a land breeze pushes the warmer air toward the beach.

On an excessively hot day, a sea breeze offers a cooling wind and a land breeze can feel like a blast furnace. But on a milder day, a sea breeze could have you reaching for a beach towel to use as a blanket.

Along the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches, a sea breeze will come from the south or southeast.

Seagulls and flies are also influenced by the wind direction.

Gulls tend to stay in cooler air and will be less active on the beach during a land breeze, but that wind also carries flies and other flying pests toward the beach. So, while you may not have seagulls hunting your turkey sub, you’ll probably have flies snacking on your ankles.

What do the colored warning flags on beaches mean?

Beaches staffed with United States Lifesaving Association-trained lifeguards will employ warning flags that inform the current wind level on the beach, along with other hazards. You'll need to understand these flags to have a more enjoyable beach excursion.

There are nine different beach warning flags, according to the USLA:

• Black/white: this quartered flag designates an area only for surfboards and other non-powered craft.
• Double Red: all water entry is banned to the general public.
• Orange windsock: indicates the direction of offshore winds.
• Purple: marine life, such as jellyfish, stingrays and other aquatic life is in the water and could cause minor injuries. This flag does not warn of sharks in the water.
• Red: high hazard. Rough conditions; strong surfs and currents. No swimmers should enter the water.
• Red/white: immediate water evacuation. Swimmers are urged to leave the water due to an emergency situation, search and rescue, or because sharks are spotted in the water.
• Red/yellow: this halved flag means this area of the beach is staffed by lifeguards, and to also indicate that swimming is allowed in the immediate area.
• Yellow: medium hazard: weaker swimmer shouldn't enter the water.
• Yellow flag with centered black ball: surfboards and other non-powered craft are prohibited in the area.