MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Heron Island Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Sat 23:53 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Sat 23:53 (AEST)

Heron Island looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Sun 16:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Sun 00:00 (AEST)

Later today

Poor · 3.2/10

Sun 16:00 (AEST)

Next three days

Fair · 4.2/10

Mon 17:00 (AEST)

Model estimates using Open-Meteo; not observations or safety guarantees. Check official advisories and conditions at the beach.

Score: 3.2/10

Best time: Sun 16:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Sun 11:00 (Poor).

Best afternoon signal: Sun 16:00 (Poor). Peak afternoon wind is about 10.4 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots

Best nearby spots later today

Cairns 5.6/10 Good · Sun 17:00

Weakest nearby later today

Lady Elliot Island

Sunrise

05:18

Sunset

17:57

Water

23.0°C

Max air

22.0°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

70% cloud

No good model window in the next 72 hours

Use the best-available section for the least-bad times.

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Sunday

❌ Poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Monday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Tuesday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

  • Mon 17:00: Fair (0.42) · still limited by waves, wind
  • Mon 16:00: Fair (0.37) · still limited by waves, wind
  • Mon 15:00: Fair (0.36) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Waves (70 hours)
  • Wind (70 hours)
  • Tide/current (64 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

Drift estimate from wind, swell, current and warm water.

Low · 26/100

Low drift risk now.

water is warm enough for occasional jellyfish; surface drift/current is noticeable; local shoreline exposure is not mapped yet.

Sightings override the model: if you see small purple jellyfish with long trailing tentacles, treat them as sting-capable and give them space.

Upcoming high tides

Next early morning high tide: Sun 01:00

Sun 01:00, Sun 14:00, Mon 15:00, Tue 04:00, Tue 16:00

Nearby snorkel spot map

Compare nearby spot forecasts for later today before choosing a beach.

Cairns Good · Sun 17:00 5.6/10 Port Douglas Fair · Sun 12:00 5.3/10 Whitsundays Fair · Sun 13:00 4.9/10 Lady Elliot Island Poor · Sun 15:00 3.4/10

Forecast spot map

Use the map to see where the compared spots sit. Open a card for the hourly forecast.

Cairns Port Douglas Whitsundays Lady Elliot Island
  1. Cairns
  2. Port Douglas
  3. Whitsundays
  4. Lady Elliot Island

This is a location diagram, not a marine chart. Check the shore and local signs in person.

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Lady Elliot Island

110 km away

❌ Poor

Whitsundays

462 km away

❌ Poor

Byron Bay

603 km away

❌ Poor

Flynn Reef

951 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sun 00:00 – Wed 00:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.59 around Sun 16:00; 8 of 24 hours are good, fair, or excellent.

Score trend, higher is better. Excellent ≥ 0.72, good 0.55–0.72, fair 0.35–0.55.

Conditions (24h trends)

Tap a chart to load just that series.

0/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.54m to 0.88m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 16/24 sampled hours (range 3.18 to 7.63m/s).

Tides range from -0.33m to 1.49m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Good 🌟 Good
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Good 🌟 Good
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Scoring methodology (for technical users)

We score each hour from 0 to 1 using daylight and these weighted components:

  • Wave height (35%): best below 0.36m, then decreases as it rises.
  • Wind speed (25%): best below 5.4m/s, lower is better.
  • Sea surface temperature (15%): best within 20.6°C to 30.4°C.
  • Tide and currents (15%): best around slack/high-tide windows.
  • Daylight (10%): visibility is better in daylight, so night hours score lower.
Detailed hourly data table
Time Wave (m) Wind (m/s) Sea temp (°C) Status
Sun 00:00 0.88 · high 7.31 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 01:00 0.88 · high 7.26 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 02:00 0.88 · high 7.63 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 03:00 0.62 · high 6.25 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 04:00 0.62 · high 5.90 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 05:00 0.60 · high 5.73 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 06:00 0.60 · high 4.79 · good 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 07:00 0.58 · high 3.71 · good 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 08:00 0.58 · high 3.90 · good 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 09:00 0.56 · high 4.06 · good 22.40 · good Poor
Sun 10:00 0.56 · high 3.61 · good 22.50 · good Fair
Sun 11:00 0.56 · high 3.18 · good 22.50 · good Fair
Sun 12:00 0.54 · high 3.31 · good 22.60 · good Fair
Sun 13:00 0.54 · high 3.60 · good 22.70 · good Fair
Sun 14:00 0.54 · high 3.65 · good 22.80 · good Fair
Sun 15:00 0.56 · high 3.83 · good 22.80 · good Fair
Sun 16:00 0.56 · high 4.32 · good 22.90 · good Good
Sun 17:00 0.58 · high 4.78 · good 22.90 · good Fair
Sun 18:00 0.58 · high 4.95 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 19:00 0.60 · high 4.82 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 20:00 0.62 · high 5.01 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 21:00 0.64 · high 6.08 · high 22.80 · good Poor
Sun 22:00 0.64 · high 5.79 · high 22.70 · good Poor
Sun 23:00 0.64 · high 4.99 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Mon 00:00 0.64 · high 4.65 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Mon 01:00 0.64 · high 4.59 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Mon 02:00 0.64 · high 4.90 · good 22.60 · good Poor
Mon 03:00 0.62 · high 4.96 · good 22.60 · good Poor
Mon 04:00 0.66 · high 5.33 · good 22.60 · good Poor
Mon 05:00 0.64 · high 5.38 · good 22.60 · good Poor
Mon 06:00 0.64 · high 5.27 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Mon 07:00 0.62 · high 4.67 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Mon 08:00 0.60 · high 4.09 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Mon 09:00 0.60 · high 3.52 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Mon 10:00 0.58 · high 3.18 · good 22.80 · good Good
Mon 11:00 0.56 · high 3.31 · good 22.90 · good Good
Mon 12:00 0.56 · high 3.25 · good 23.10 · good Fair
Mon 13:00 0.54 · high 3.15 · good 23.20 · good Fair
Mon 14:00 0.54 · high 3.20 · good 23.40 · good Fair
Mon 15:00 0.52 · high 3.35 · good 23.50 · good Good
Mon 16:00 0.52 · high 3.96 · good 23.50 · good Fair
Mon 17:00 0.52 · high 4.71 · good 23.50 · good Fair
Mon 18:00 0.52 · high 5.31 · good 23.40 · good Poor
Mon 19:00 0.52 · high 5.63 · high 23.30 · good Poor
Mon 20:00 0.54 · high 5.82 · high 23.20 · good Poor
Mon 21:00 0.56 · high 6.23 · high 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 22:00 0.66 · high 5.68 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 23:00 0.66 · high 5.46 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 00:00 0.66 · high 4.83 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 01:00 0.66 · high 4.52 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 02:00 0.64 · high 4.69 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 03:00 0.64 · high 4.21 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 04:00 0.56 · high 4.08 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 05:00 0.54 · high 3.47 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 06:00 0.54 · high 2.69 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 07:00 0.52 · high 2.53 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 08:00 0.50 · high 2.75 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 09:00 0.50 · high 2.22 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 10:00 0.48 · high 1.85 · good 23.00 · good Good
Tue 11:00 0.46 · high 1.40 · good 23.10 · good Good
Tue 12:00 0.46 · high 1.25 · good 23.20 · good Good
Tue 13:00 0.44 · high 1.21 · good 23.30 · good Good
Tue 14:00 0.44 · high 1.36 · good 23.40 · good Good
Tue 15:00 0.42 · high 1.72 · good 23.50 · good Good
Tue 16:00 0.42 · high 1.74 · good 23.60 · good Good
Tue 17:00 0.42 · high 3.40 · good 23.60 · good Fair
Tue 18:00 0.42 · high 4.13 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Tue 19:00 0.42 · high 4.76 · good 23.40 · good Poor
Tue 20:00 0.42 · high 3.16 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Tue 21:00 0.42 · high 1.95 · good 23.40 · good Poor
Tue 22:00 0.42 · high 3.26 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Tue 23:00 0.42 · high 4.57 · good 23.30 · good Poor