MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Heron Island Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Sun 03:21 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Sun 03:21 (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 05:00 (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

22.8°C

Max air

22.0°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

34% 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 (69 hours)
  • Wind (69 hours)
  • Tide/current (63 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: Tue 04:00

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

Fri 05:00 – Mon 05:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.38 around Fri 13:00; 2 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 0.76m to 0.94m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 7.2 to 8.86m/s).

Tides range from -0.45m to 1.43m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview
Poor ❌ Limited
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Fair ⚠️ Fair
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Good 🌟 Good
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
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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
Fri 05:00 0.94 · high 8.19 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 06:00 0.94 · high 8.32 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 07:00 0.92 · high 8.45 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 08:00 0.90 · high 8.41 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 09:00 0.88 · high 8.23 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 10:00 0.86 · high 8.86 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 11:00 0.84 · high 8.07 · high 22.00 · good Poor
Fri 12:00 0.82 · high 7.63 · high 22.10 · good Poor
Fri 13:00 0.80 · high 7.37 · high 22.20 · good Fair
Fri 14:00 0.78 · high 7.29 · high 22.20 · good Fair
Fri 15:00 0.78 · high 7.35 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Fri 16:00 0.76 · high 7.82 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Fri 17:00 0.76 · high 7.50 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Fri 18:00 0.76 · high 7.45 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Fri 19:00 0.76 · high 7.78 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Fri 20:00 0.78 · high 7.83 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Fri 21:00 0.84 · high 8.03 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Fri 22:00 0.84 · high 8.18 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Fri 23:00 0.82 · high 8.07 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Sat 00:00 0.82 · high 7.31 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Sat 01:00 0.80 · high 7.35 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Sat 02:00 0.80 · high 7.34 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Sat 03:00 0.78 · high 7.20 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 04:00 0.84 · high 7.96 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 05:00 0.86 · high 8.17 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 06:00 0.88 · high 8.89 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 07:00 0.90 · high 8.80 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 08:00 0.90 · high 8.30 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 09:00 0.88 · high 7.67 · high 22.20 · good Poor
Sat 10:00 0.88 · high 8.08 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Sat 11:00 0.88 · high 7.60 · high 22.30 · good Poor
Sat 12:00 0.86 · high 7.56 · high 22.40 · good Poor
Sat 13:00 0.86 · high 7.61 · high 22.50 · good Poor
Sat 14:00 0.88 · high 7.91 · high 22.50 · good Poor
Sat 15:00 0.88 · high 8.07 · high 22.60 · good Poor
Sat 16:00 0.90 · high 7.81 · high 22.60 · good Poor
Sat 17:00 0.90 · high 7.85 · high 22.60 · good Poor
Sat 18:00 0.90 · high 8.35 · high 22.60 · good Poor
Sat 19:00 0.90 · high 8.68 · high 22.60 · good Poor
Sat 20:00 0.90 · high 8.54 · high 22.60 · good Poor
Sat 21:00 0.88 · high 8.36 · high 22.50 · good Poor
Sat 22:00 0.88 · high 7.54 · high 22.50 · good Poor
Sat 23:00 0.88 · high 7.47 · high 22.50 · good Poor
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