Can you snorkel in Lord Howe Island today?

Conditions look marginal right now — no clearly safe snorkeling window is forecast in Lord Howe Island over the next 72 hours. Check the hourly table for the calmest period.

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Lord Howe Island?

Snorkel during daylight, ideally in the morning before the wind picks up, and around high slack tide when water is clearest and currents are weakest. SnorkelForecast scores every daylight hour in Lord Howe Island so you can pick the calmest window.

What is the best tide for snorkeling?

High slack tide — within about an hour of the high-tide peak when currents are weakest — is the safest, clearest window. Strong low tides, strong tidal flow near channels or headlands, and large tidal-range days reduce score.

Lord Howe Island Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Fri 03:24 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Report Sat 02:30

Lord Howe Island looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Mon 12:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Score: 3.2/10

Best time: Mon 12:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Sat 10:00 (Poor).

Best afternoon signal: Sat 13:00 (Poor). Peak afternoon wind is about 8.8 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

06:17

Sunset

16:42

Water

19.4°C

Max air

17.8°C

Sky

Clear

9% cloud

No safe 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

Saturday

❌ poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Sunday

❌ poor conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Monday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Mon 02:00 — Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
Mon 01:00 — Fair (0.41) · still limited by waves, sea temperature
Mon 00:00 — Fair (0.39) · still limited by waves, sea temperature

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (58 hours)
Sea temperature (58 hours)
Tide/current (58 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 18/100

Low drift risk now.

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: Fri 18:00

Fri 18:00, Sat 07:00, Sat 19:00, Sun 08:00, Sun 20:00

Nearby alternatives in Australia

Byron Bay

617 km away

✅ Good

Jervis Bay

870 km away

❌ Poor

Lady Elliot Island

1037 km away

❌ Poor

Heron Island

1145 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Fri 16:00 – Mon 16:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.0 around Sat 02:00; 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 2.0m to 2.46m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 0/24 sampled hours (range 18.1 to 27.8m/s).

Tides range from -0.25m to 1.02m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Fri 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Fri 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sat 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 15:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 16:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 17:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 18:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 19:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 20:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 21:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 22:00 poor ❌ Limited

Sun 23:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 13:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 14:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 15:00 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 and safety gate (outside daylight scores lower).

Detailed hourly data table

Time	Wave (m)	Wind (m/s)	Sea temp (°C)	Status
Fri 16:00	2.46 · high	23.00 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 17:00	2.44 · high	24.50 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 18:00	2.42 · high	24.10 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 19:00	2.40 · high	24.50 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 20:00	2.36 · high	23.90 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 21:00	2.34 · high	23.30 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 22:00	2.30 · high	24.00 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Fri 23:00	2.28 · high	24.00 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 00:00	2.24 · high	23.50 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 01:00	2.22 · high	25.10 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 02:00	2.18 · high	27.20 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 03:00	2.16 · high	27.80 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 04:00	2.14 · high	25.30 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 05:00	2.10 · high	21.60 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 06:00	2.08 · high	19.60 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 07:00	2.06 · high	18.60 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 08:00	2.06 · high	19.90 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 09:00	2.04 · high	18.80 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 10:00	2.02 · high	18.10 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 11:00	2.02 · high	18.40 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 12:00	2.00 · high	20.30 · high	19.40 · out of range	poor
Sat 13:00	2.20 · high	24.30 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 14:00	2.20 · high	24.50 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 15:00	2.20 · high	25.80 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 16:00	2.22 · high	24.00 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 17:00	2.22 · high	25.60 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 18:00	2.24 · high	25.60 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 19:00	2.26 · high	26.80 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 20:00	2.28 · high	26.20 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 21:00	2.30 · high	25.10 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 22:00	2.32 · high	29.40 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sat 23:00	2.32 · high	25.30 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 00:00	2.34 · high	24.50 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 01:00	2.34 · high	24.10 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 02:00	2.34 · high	22.90 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 03:00	2.34 · high	22.50 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 04:00	2.34 · high	22.80 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 05:00	2.34 · high	23.70 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 06:00	2.34 · high	24.80 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 07:00	2.34 · high	26.00 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 08:00	2.34 · high	28.10 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 09:00	2.34 · high	29.30 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Sun 10:00	2.34 · high	29.20 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 11:00	2.32 · high	27.10 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 12:00	2.32 · high	27.10 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 13:00	2.30 · high	24.30 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 14:00	2.28 · high	23.60 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 15:00	2.26 · high	26.30 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 16:00	2.22 · high	24.60 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 17:00	2.20 · high	24.50 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 18:00	2.16 · high	23.70 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 19:00	2.12 · high	22.80 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 20:00	2.10 · high	23.10 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 21:00	2.06 · high	23.90 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 22:00	2.04 · high	25.00 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Sun 23:00	2.00 · high	22.90 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Mon 00:00	1.98 · high	22.50 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Mon 01:00	1.96 · high	22.50 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Mon 02:00	1.94 · high	21.80 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor
Mon 03:00	1.92 · high	21.60 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 04:00	1.90 · high	20.60 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 05:00	1.86 · high	19.00 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 06:00	1.84 · high	18.00 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 07:00	1.82 · high	19.10 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 08:00	1.80 · high	20.10 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 09:00	1.78 · high	20.50 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 10:00	1.76 · high	20.60 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 11:00	1.72 · high	20.30 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 12:00	1.70 · high	18.20 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 13:00	1.68 · high	16.60 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 14:00	1.66 · high	16.10 · high	19.30 · out of range	poor
Mon 15:00	1.64 · high	12.80 · high	19.20 · out of range	poor