Can you snorkel in Catalina Island today?

Yes. The next good snorkeling window in Catalina Island starts Mon 13:00. Around 7% of the next 72 hours are suitable.

What is the best time of day to snorkel in Catalina 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 Catalina 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.

Catalina Island Snorkel Report Today

USA · Updated Sat 05:02 (EDT) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Go in the best window Report Sat 16:51

Catalina Island has a usable snorkeling window around Mon 09:00. The main thing to watch is waves.

Score: 4.8/10

Best time: Mon 09:00

Main risk: Waves

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Sat 17:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 2.3 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

08:57

Sunset

23:02

Water

22.3°C

Max air

23.6°C

Sky

Partly cloudy

55% cloud

Good window is available today

Next safe window: Mon 13:00 (7% of next 72h are suitable)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Saturday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Sunday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Monday

✅ good conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Next safe window starts at Mon 13:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (56 hours)
Tide/current (56 hours)
Darkness (31 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: Sun 08:00

Sun 08:00, Sun 21:00, Mon 09:00, Mon 22:00

Nearby alternatives in USA

La Jolla Cove

122 km away

⚠️ Fair

Crystal River

3429 km away

✅ Good

Dry Tortugas

3572 km away

✅ Good

Looe Key

3711 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing live forecast

Sat 20:00 – Tue 20:00 (EDT)

Previous day Yesterday

Snorkel Score (next 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.48 around Sun 12:00; 11 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 0.88m to 1.12m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 24/24 sampled hours (range 0.14 to 3.03m/s).

Tides range from -0.46m to 0.73m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour forecast overview

Sat 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 14:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 16:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 17:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 19:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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 good 🌟 Good

Mon 14:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 16:00 good 🌟 Good

Mon 17:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 19:00 good 🌟 Good

Mon 20:00 good 🌟 Good

Mon 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 04:00 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
Sat 21:00	0.88 · high	1.08 · good	22.30 · good	fair
Sat 22:00	0.88 · high	0.63 · good	22.40 · good	fair
Sat 23:00	0.88 · high	2.30 · good	22.40 · good	fair
Sun 00:00	0.88 · high	2.72 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Sun 01:00	0.88 · high	2.51 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Sun 02:00	0.88 · high	3.03 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Sun 03:00	0.88 · high	1.99 · good	22.30 · good	poor
Sun 04:00	0.88 · high	2.43 · good	22.20 · good	poor
Sun 05:00	0.90 · high	2.31 · good	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 06:00	0.90 · high	2.04 · good	22.10 · good	poor
Sun 07:00	0.92 · high	1.60 · good	22.00 · good	poor
Sun 08:00	0.94 · high	1.26 · good	22.00 · good	poor
Sun 09:00	0.96 · high	1.04 · good	22.00 · good	poor
Sun 10:00	0.98 · high	0.32 · good	21.90 · good	poor
Sun 11:00	1.00 · high	0.58 · good	21.90 · good	poor
Sun 12:00	1.02 · high	0.71 · good	21.90 · good	poor
Sun 13:00	1.04 · high	0.58 · good	22.00 · good	fair
Sun 14:00	1.04 · high	0.20 · good	22.00 · good	fair
Sun 15:00	1.06 · high	0.70 · good	22.10 · good	fair
Sun 16:00	1.08 · high	0.14 · good	22.20 · good	fair
Sun 17:00	1.08 · high	0.54 · good	22.20 · good	fair
Sun 18:00	1.10 · high	0.67 · good	22.30 · good	fair
Sun 19:00	1.10 · high	1.99 · good	22.30 · good	fair
Sun 20:00	1.12 · high	2.08 · good	22.40 · good	fair
Sun 21:00	1.12 · high	3.62 · good	22.40 · good	fair
Sun 22:00	1.12 · high	3.51 · good	22.50 · good	fair
Sun 23:00	1.12 · high	3.63 · good	22.50 · good	fair
Mon 00:00	1.12 · high	3.88 · good	22.50 · good	poor
Mon 01:00	1.12 · high	3.47 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Mon 02:00	1.10 · high	3.03 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Mon 03:00	1.10 · high	2.16 · good	22.30 · good	poor
Mon 04:00	1.10 · high	1.68 · good	22.30 · good	poor
Mon 05:00	1.08 · high	1.42 · good	22.20 · good	poor
Mon 06:00	1.08 · high	2.02 · good	22.10 · good	poor
Mon 07:00	1.08 · high	0.85 · good	22.10 · good	poor
Mon 08:00	1.10 · high	0.51 · good	22.00 · good	poor
Mon 09:00	1.10 · high	0.32 · good	22.00 · good	poor
Mon 10:00	1.10 · high	0.45 · good	22.00 · good	poor
Mon 11:00	1.12 · high	0.28 · good	21.90 · good	poor
Mon 12:00	1.12 · high	0.64 · good	21.90 · good	poor
Mon 13:00	1.12 · high	1.20 · good	21.90 · good	good
Mon 14:00	1.12 · high	2.12 · good	21.90 · good	fair
Mon 15:00	1.12 · high	1.87 · good	21.90 · good	fair
Mon 16:00	1.10 · high	1.51 · good	22.00 · good	good
Mon 17:00	1.10 · high	1.99 · good	22.00 · good	fair
Mon 18:00	1.08 · high	2.09 · good	22.00 · good	fair
Mon 19:00	1.08 · high	2.10 · good	22.10 · good	good
Mon 20:00	1.06 · high	2.34 · good	22.10 · good	good
Mon 21:00	1.06 · high	3.55 · good	22.20 · good	fair
Mon 22:00	1.06 · high	4.27 · good	22.30 · good	fair
Mon 23:00	1.06 · high	4.77 · good	22.40 · good	fair
Tue 00:00	1.06 · high	4.81 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Tue 01:00	1.08 · high	4.88 · good	22.40 · good	poor
Tue 02:00	1.08 · high	4.28 · good	22.30 · good	poor
Tue 03:00	1.10 · high	4.03 · good	22.20 · good	poor
Tue 04:00	1.10 · high	4.12 · good	22.20 · good	poor