MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Whitsundays Snorkel Report Today

Australia · Updated Mon 10:42 (AEST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Mon 10:42 (AEST)

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

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 3.5/10

Mon 11:00 (AEST)

Later today

Fair · 4.9/10

Mon 12:00 (AEST)

Next three days

Good · 6.7/10

Tue 18:00 (AEST)

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

Score: 4.9/10

Best time: Mon 12:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Mon 12:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 6.0 m/s.

Email me when it is good Compare nearby spots

Best nearby spots later today

Cairns 5.4/10 Fair · Mon 18:00 Port Douglas 4.9/10 Fair · Mon 16:00 Lady Elliot Island 4.4/10 Fair · Mon 16:00

Sunrise

05:30

Sunset

18:07

Water

24.7°C

Max air

25.5°C

Sky

Clear

5% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Tue 18:00 (13% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Monday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Tuesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Wednesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Tide/current

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Tue 18:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Tide/current (64 hours)
  • Darkness (45 hours)
  • Waves (32 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Mon 18:00.

warm water supports seasonal jellyfish activity; 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 06:00

Tue 06:00, Tue 18:00, Wed 07:00, Wed 19:00, Thu 07:00

Nearby snorkel spot map

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

Cairns Fair · Mon 18:00 5.4/10 Port Douglas Fair · Mon 16:00 4.9/10 Lady Elliot Island Fair · Mon 16:00 4.4/10 Heron Island Fair · Mon 16:00 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 Lady Elliot Island Heron Island
  1. Cairns
  2. Port Douglas
  3. Lady Elliot Island
  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

462 km away

❌ Poor

Flynn Reef

489 km away

❌ Poor

Fitzroy Island

489 km away

❌ Poor

Arlington Reef

505 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Mon 11:00 – Thu 11:00 (AEST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.61 around Mon 12:00; 9 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.

21/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.22m to 0.42m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 3.58 to 5.4m/s).

Tides range from -0.9m to 2.2m; 2 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
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Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
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Good 🌟 Good
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Good 🌟 Good
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Good 🌟 Good
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Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
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Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
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Good 🌟 Good
Good 🌟 Good
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
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Poor ❌ Limited
Good 🌟 Good
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
Mon 11:00 0.28 · good 4.09 · good 22.80 · good Good
Mon 12:00 0.26 · good 4.26 · good 22.90 · good Good
Mon 13:00 0.26 · good 4.49 · good 23.00 · good Fair
Mon 14:00 0.26 · good 4.60 · good 23.10 · good Good
Mon 15:00 0.26 · good 4.55 · good 23.20 · good Good
Mon 16:00 0.26 · good 5.28 · good 23.20 · good Good
Mon 17:00 0.26 · good 5.37 · good 23.20 · good Good
Mon 18:00 0.26 · good 5.40 · good 23.20 · good Good
Mon 19:00 0.26 · good 5.22 · good 23.10 · good Poor
Mon 20:00 0.26 · good 5.12 · good 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 21:00 0.42 · high 4.88 · good 23.00 · good Poor
Mon 22:00 0.40 · high 4.49 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Mon 23:00 0.38 · high 4.20 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 00:00 0.36 · good 4.03 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 01:00 0.34 · good 3.76 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 02:00 0.32 · good 3.60 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Tue 03:00 0.32 · good 3.60 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Tue 04:00 0.28 · good 3.58 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Tue 05:00 0.28 · good 3.58 · good 22.70 · good Poor
Tue 06:00 0.26 · good 3.58 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 07:00 0.26 · good 3.62 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 08:00 0.24 · good 3.60 · good 22.80 · good Poor
Tue 09:00 0.24 · good 3.66 · good 22.90 · good Poor
Tue 10:00 0.22 · good 3.63 · good 23.00 · good Good
Tue 11:00 0.22 · good 3.86 · good 23.10 · good Good
Tue 12:00 0.22 · good 3.93 · good 23.30 · good Good
Tue 13:00 0.22 · good 3.86 · good 23.50 · good Good
Tue 14:00 0.22 · good 3.88 · good 23.70 · good Good
Tue 15:00 0.22 · good 3.89 · good 23.90 · good Good
Tue 16:00 0.22 · good 3.65 · good 24.00 · good Good
Tue 17:00 0.22 · good 3.73 · good 24.00 · good Good
Tue 18:00 0.22 · good 3.85 · good 23.90 · good Good
Tue 19:00 0.22 · good 4.10 · good 23.70 · good Poor
Tue 20:00 0.22 · good 4.38 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Tue 21:00 0.26 · good 3.58 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Tue 22:00 0.26 · good 3.70 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Tue 23:00 0.26 · good 4.03 · good 23.10 · good Poor
Wed 00:00 0.26 · good 3.78 · good 23.10 · good Poor
Wed 01:00 0.26 · good 3.05 · good 23.10 · good Poor
Wed 02:00 0.24 · good 2.37 · good 23.00 · good Poor
Wed 03:00 0.18 · good 2.51 · good 23.00 · good Poor
Wed 04:00 0.18 · good 2.29 · good 23.00 · good Poor
Wed 05:00 0.16 · good 1.61 · good 23.00 · good Poor
Wed 06:00 0.16 · good 1.49 · good 23.10 · good Poor
Wed 07:00 0.14 · good 1.76 · good 23.10 · good Poor
Wed 08:00 0.14 · good 1.49 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Wed 09:00 0.14 · good 1.70 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Wed 10:00 0.14 · good 1.93 · good 23.40 · good Good
Wed 11:00 0.14 · good 2.46 · good 23.50 · good Good
Wed 12:00 0.12 · good 2.76 · good 23.70 · good Good
Wed 13:00 0.12 · good 2.65 · good 24.00 · good Good
Wed 14:00 0.12 · good 2.62 · good 24.20 · good Good
Wed 15:00 0.12 · good 3.30 · good 24.30 · good Good
Wed 16:00 0.12 · good 3.63 · good 24.40 · good Good
Wed 17:00 0.12 · good 3.96 · good 24.30 · good Good
Wed 18:00 0.12 · good 4.21 · good 24.20 · good Good
Wed 19:00 0.12 · good 4.50 · good 24.00 · good Poor
Wed 20:00 0.14 · good 4.76 · good 23.80 · good Poor
Wed 21:00 0.30 · good 3.77 · good 23.60 · good Poor
Wed 22:00 0.32 · good 3.40 · good 23.50 · good Poor
Wed 23:00 0.34 · good 3.26 · good 23.40 · good Poor
Thu 00:00 0.36 · good 3.54 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Thu 01:00 0.38 · high 3.86 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Thu 02:00 0.20 · good 2.57 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Thu 03:00 0.20 · good 2.55 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Thu 04:00 0.20 · good 2.76 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Thu 05:00 0.20 · good 2.67 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Thu 06:00 0.18 · good 2.20 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Thu 07:00 0.18 · good 2.19 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Thu 08:00 0.18 · good 2.96 · good 23.20 · good Poor
Thu 09:00 0.18 · good 3.46 · good 23.30 · good Poor
Thu 10:00 0.18 · good 3.73 · good 23.30 · good Good