MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Lady Elliot Island Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Sun 09:34 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Sun 09:34 (AEST)

Lady Elliot Island looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Sun 15:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 2.3/10

Sun 11:00 (AEST)

Later today

Poor · 3.4/10

Sun 15:00 (AEST)

Next three days

Fair · 4.8/10

Mon 16:00 (AEST)

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

Score: 3.4/10

Best time: Sun 15:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Sun 15:00 (Poor). Peak afternoon wind is about 9.9 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots

Best nearby spots later today

Cairns 5.9/10 Good · Sun 18:00

Sunrise

05:13

Sunset

17:55

Water

23.2°C

Max air

22.2°C

Sky

Cloudy

100% 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 16:00: Fair (0.48) · still limited by waves, wind
  • Tue 17:00: Fair (0.44) · still limited by waves, wind
  • Tue 16:00: Fair (0.42) · still limited by waves, wind

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Waves (69 hours)
  • Wind (64 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: Mon 02:00

Sun 13:00, Mon 02:00, Mon 15:00, Tue 03:00, Tue 16:00, Wed 04:00

Nearby snorkel spot map

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

Cairns Good · Sun 18:00 5.9/10 Port Douglas Fair · Sun 18:00 5.4/10 Whitsundays Fair · Sun 13:00 4.9/10 Heron Island Fair · Sun 17:00 3.7/10

Forecast spot map

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

Cairns Port Douglas Whitsundays Heron Island
  1. Cairns
  2. Port Douglas
  3. Whitsundays
  4. Heron Island

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

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Heron Island

110 km away

❌ Poor

Byron Bay

511 km away

⚠️ Fair

Whitsundays

572 km away

⚠️ Fair

Port Stephens

959 km away

⚠️ Fair

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Sat 11:00 – Tue 11:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.34 around Sun 10:00; 0 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 1.54m to 2.0m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 6.09 to 9.5m/s).

Tides range from -0.6m to 1.38m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview
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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
Sat 11:00 2.00 · high 9.50 · high 22.80 · good Poor
Sat 12:00 1.98 · high 8.48 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 13:00 1.96 · high 7.95 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 14:00 1.94 · high 6.56 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 15:00 1.92 · high 8.34 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sat 16:00 1.90 · high 8.59 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sat 17:00 1.88 · high 8.58 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sat 18:00 1.86 · high 8.38 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sat 19:00 1.84 · high 8.19 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 20:00 1.82 · high 8.10 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 21:00 1.84 · high 7.80 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 22:00 1.82 · high 7.80 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sat 23:00 1.82 · high 7.91 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 00:00 1.80 · high 7.50 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 01:00 1.78 · high 7.04 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 02:00 1.74 · high 6.57 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 03:00 1.72 · high 6.25 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 04:00 1.68 · high 6.17 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 05:00 1.66 · high 6.09 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 06:00 1.62 · high 6.23 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 07:00 1.60 · high 6.15 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 08:00 1.58 · high 6.15 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 09:00 1.56 · high 6.28 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 10:00 1.54 · high 6.09 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 11:00 1.52 · high 6.07 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 12:00 1.52 · high 5.96 · high 23.00 · good Fair
Sun 13:00 1.50 · high 5.96 · high 23.00 · good Fair
Sun 14:00 1.48 · high 5.73 · high 23.00 · good Fair
Sun 15:00 1.48 · high 5.77 · high 23.00 · good Fair
Sun 16:00 1.46 · high 5.91 · high 23.00 · good Fair
Sun 17:00 1.46 · high 7.37 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sun 18:00 1.44 · high 7.69 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sun 19:00 1.44 · high 7.41 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sun 20:00 1.44 · high 7.39 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Sun 21:00 1.42 · high 7.39 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 22:00 1.42 · high 7.25 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Sun 23:00 1.46 · high 7.31 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 00:00 1.44 · high 7.32 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 01:00 1.44 · high 7.41 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 02:00 1.44 · high 7.45 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 03:00 1.46 · high 7.43 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 04:00 1.46 · high 7.35 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 05:00 1.46 · high 7.67 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 06:00 1.46 · high 8.01 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 07:00 1.46 · high 8.07 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 08:00 1.44 · high 7.63 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 09:00 1.42 · high 7.62 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 10:00 1.40 · high 7.52 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 11:00 1.38 · high 6.67 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 12:00 1.38 · high 6.59 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 13:00 1.36 · high 7.86 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 14:00 1.34 · high 7.23 · high 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 15:00 1.30 · high 6.59 · high 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 16:00 1.28 · high 5.68 · high 23.10 · good Fair
Mon 17:00 1.26 · high 6.22 · high 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 18:00 1.24 · high 6.55 · high 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 19:00 1.22 · high 7.15 · high 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 20:00 1.22 · high 7.96 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 21:00 1.24 · high 7.15 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 22:00 1.26 · high 5.99 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 23:00 1.30 · high 5.49 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Tue 00:00 1.34 · high 6.35 · high 23.00 · good Poor
Tue 01:00 1.38 · high 8.86 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 02:00 1.38 · high 8.43 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 03:00 1.38 · high 8.30 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 04:00 1.38 · high 8.25 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 05:00 1.40 · high 8.76 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 06:00 1.40 · high 8.23 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 07:00 1.42 · high 9.29 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 08:00 1.46 · high 9.46 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 09:00 1.50 · high 10.19 · high 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 10:00 1.54 · high 10.50 · high 22.90 · good Poor