MARINE REPORT / 72 HOURS

Buck Island Snorkel Report Today

US Virgin Islands · Updated Sat 15:53 (AST) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Marginal Data updated Sat 15:53 (AST)

Buck Island looks marginal today. The least-bad daylight window is around Sat 17:00, but waves is limiting the forecast.

Right now (forecast)

Fair · 4.8/10

Sat 16:00 (AST)

Later today

Fair · 4.9/10

Sat 17:00 (AST)

Next three days

Fair · 5.4/10

Sun 13:00 (AST)

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

Score: 4.9/10

Best time: Sat 17:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Sat 17:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 4.5 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Also see the best places to snorkel in the Caribbean, ranked on our stored historical scores.

Sunrise

06:12

Sunset

17:54

Water

29.9°C

Max air

29.3°C

Sky

Clear

2% 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

Saturday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Sunday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Monday

⚠️ Fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

  • Sun 13:00: Fair (0.54) · still limited by waves, tide/current
  • Sun 10:00: Fair (0.53) · still limited by waves
  • Sun 11:00: Fair (0.53) · still limited by waves, tide/current

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

  • Waves (70 hours)
  • Darkness (39 hours)
  • Tide/current (12 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 29/100

Low peak drift risk around Sun 13:00.

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.

Nearby alternatives in US Virgin Islands

Trunk Bay

65 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Wed 16:00 – Sat 16:00 (AST)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.41 around Thu 15:00; 7 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 1.14m to 1.42m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 1/24 sampled hours (range 5.19 to 11.14m/s).

Tides range from 0.17m to 0.44m; 0 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
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
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
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
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
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Poor ❌ Limited
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
Fair ⚠️ Fair
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
Wed 16:00 1.14 · high 8.47 · high 29.90 · good Poor
Wed 17:00 1.14 · high 8.23 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Wed 18:00 1.14 · high 9.40 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Wed 19:00 1.14 · high 7.93 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Wed 20:00 1.14 · high 8.61 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Wed 21:00 1.20 · high 9.45 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Wed 22:00 1.28 · high 9.20 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Wed 23:00 1.34 · high 9.15 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Thu 00:00 1.36 · high 11.14 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 01:00 1.40 · high 6.01 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 02:00 1.42 · high 8.06 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 03:00 1.40 · high 7.42 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 04:00 1.40 · high 7.96 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 05:00 1.38 · high 10.00 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 06:00 1.38 · high 6.89 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Thu 07:00 1.40 · high 6.12 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Thu 08:00 1.38 · high 7.07 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Thu 09:00 1.36 · high 6.70 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Thu 10:00 1.32 · high 7.73 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 11:00 1.30 · high 8.15 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 12:00 1.30 · high 5.19 · good 29.70 · good Fair
Thu 13:00 1.34 · high 5.98 · high 29.80 · good Fair
Thu 14:00 1.36 · high 6.16 · high 29.80 · good Fair
Thu 15:00 1.32 · high 5.56 · high 29.80 · good Fair
Thu 16:00 1.26 · high 5.04 · good 29.80 · good Fair
Thu 17:00 1.22 · high 5.18 · good 29.80 · good Fair
Thu 18:00 1.18 · high 5.26 · good 29.80 · good Fair
Thu 19:00 1.14 · high 5.54 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 20:00 1.10 · high 6.84 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 21:00 1.10 · high 7.73 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 22:00 1.10 · high 8.32 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Thu 23:00 1.10 · high 7.35 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Fri 00:00 1.10 · high 6.70 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Fri 01:00 1.12 · high 7.55 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Fri 02:00 1.12 · high 7.29 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Fri 03:00 1.12 · high 7.77 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Fri 04:00 1.14 · high 6.82 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Fri 05:00 1.14 · high 6.15 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Fri 06:00 1.14 · high 5.85 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Fri 07:00 1.10 · high 6.52 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Fri 08:00 1.08 · high 6.95 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Fri 09:00 1.08 · high 6.62 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Fri 10:00 1.06 · high 6.40 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Fri 11:00 1.06 · high 6.28 · high 29.70 · good Fair
Fri 12:00 1.06 · high 6.19 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Fri 13:00 1.04 · high 5.82 · high 29.80 · good Poor
Fri 14:00 1.04 · high 5.50 · high 29.80 · good Fair
Fri 15:00 1.02 · high 5.37 · good 29.80 · good Fair
Fri 16:00 1.02 · high 5.39 · good 29.80 · good Poor
Fri 17:00 1.00 · high 4.94 · good 29.80 · good Poor
Fri 18:00 0.98 · high 4.79 · good 29.80 · good Poor
Fri 19:00 0.98 · high 4.80 · good 29.70 · good Poor
Fri 20:00 0.96 · high 5.05 · good 29.70 · good Poor
Fri 21:00 0.96 · high 6.01 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Fri 22:00 0.94 · high 6.21 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Fri 23:00 0.94 · high 5.89 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Sat 00:00 0.94 · high 5.53 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Sat 01:00 0.94 · high 5.98 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 02:00 0.94 · high 6.64 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 03:00 0.94 · high 5.48 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 04:00 0.94 · high 5.10 · good 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 05:00 0.94 · high 5.06 · good 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 06:00 0.96 · high 5.30 · good 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 07:00 1.04 · high 6.60 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Sat 08:00 1.04 · high 5.75 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Sat 09:00 1.06 · high 6.16 · high 29.60 · good Fair
Sat 10:00 1.06 · high 5.75 · high 29.60 · good Poor
Sat 11:00 1.08 · high 6.24 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Sat 12:00 1.08 · high 6.63 · high 29.70 · good Poor
Sat 13:00 1.06 · high 5.75 · high 29.80 · good Fair
Sat 14:00 1.06 · high 5.90 · high 29.80 · good Fair
Sat 15:00 1.04 · high 5.96 · high 29.80 · good Fair