Abiotic data were collected to assess the environmental conditions that coincided with the 2016 mass bleaching event documented at Shell island (Shenton Bluff), Cygnet Bay, Kimberley region, northwestern Australia. Water level was recorded in both the intertidal and subtidal reef zone since this region has the world's largest tropical tides, with ~ 8m tidal range at the study site. Thus, intertidal corals regularly get exposed to air during low tide. Water level was monitored continuously from September 2015 to October 2016 at both sites using HOBO U20-001-02-Ti water level loggers (±0.05%) and RBR virtuoso water level loggers (±0.05%). Temporal resolution varied from 5 to 30 min.