Can you snorkel in Catalina Island today?

Yes. The next good snorkeling window in Catalina Island starts Thu 13:00 and lasts until 15:00. 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 Tue 04:14 (EDT) · Source: Snapshot · Showing fallback/stale data

The skinny

Go in the best window Report Wed 05:26

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

Score: 4.4/10

Best time: Thu 09:00

Main risk: Waves

Best morning signal: Wed 11:00 (Fair).

Best afternoon signal: Wed 12:00 (Fair). Peak afternoon wind is about 8.7 m/s.

Email me when it is good

Sunrise

08:59

Sunset

23:00

Water

21.5°C

Max air

22.0°C

Sky

Clear

4% cloud

Good window is available today

Next safe window: Thu 13:00–15:00 (7% of next 72h are suitable)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Wednesday

⚠️ fair conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Thursday

✅ good conditions

Main blocker: Waves

Best available hours

Next safe window starts at Thu 13:00 until 15:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Waves (42 hours)
Wind (26 hours)
Tide/current (24 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 23/100

Low peak drift risk around Wed 13:00.

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

Thu 00:00, Thu 14:00

Nearby alternatives in USA

La Jolla Cove

122 km away

❌ Poor

Crystal River

3429 km away

✅ Good

Dry Tortugas

3572 km away

❌ Poor

Looe Key

3711 km away

❌ Poor

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Mon 09:00 – Thu 09:00 (EDT)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.56 around Mon 10:00; 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 1.02m to 1.3m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 15/24 sampled hours (range 0.71 to 7.8m/s).

Tides range from -0.44m to 0.65m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Mon 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Mon 13:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 14:00 good 🌟 Good

Mon 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 16:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 17:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 19:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Mon 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

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

Tue 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Tue 13:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 14:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 16:00 good 🌟 Good

Tue 17:00 good 🌟 Good

Tue 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 19:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Tue 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 08:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 09:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 10:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 11:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 12:00 poor ❌ Limited

Wed 13:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 14:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 15:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 16:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 17:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 18:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 19:00 good 🌟 Good

Wed 20:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 21:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 22:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Wed 23:00 fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 00:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 01:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 02:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 03:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 04:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 05:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 06:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 07:00 poor ❌ Limited

Thu 08:00 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
Mon 09:00	1.16 · high	7.80 · high	19.60 · out of range	poor
Mon 10:00	1.02 · high	2.21 · good	20.00 · out of range	poor
Mon 11:00	1.04 · high	2.82 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Mon 12:00	1.04 · high	2.65 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Mon 13:00	1.04 · high	1.60 · good	19.90 · out of range	fair
Mon 14:00	1.04 · high	0.71 · good	19.90 · out of range	good
Mon 15:00	1.04 · high	1.20 · good	20.00 · out of range	fair
Mon 16:00	1.04 · high	1.58 · good	20.00 · out of range	fair
Mon 17:00	1.04 · high	2.38 · good	20.00 · out of range	fair
Mon 18:00	1.04 · high	2.33 · good	20.10 · out of range	fair
Mon 19:00	1.06 · high	3.13 · good	20.10 · out of range	fair
Mon 20:00	1.08 · high	4.88 · good	20.20 · out of range	fair
Mon 21:00	1.10 · high	5.63 · high	20.30 · out of range	fair
Mon 22:00	1.14 · high	6.40 · high	20.30 · out of range	fair
Mon 23:00	1.18 · high	7.30 · high	20.40 · out of range	fair
Tue 00:00	1.22 · high	7.30 · high	20.40 · out of range	poor
Tue 01:00	1.24 · high	6.81 · high	20.40 · out of range	poor
Tue 02:00	1.26 · high	6.91 · high	20.30 · out of range	poor
Tue 03:00	1.28 · high	5.90 · high	20.30 · out of range	poor
Tue 04:00	1.28 · high	5.60 · high	20.20 · out of range	poor
Tue 05:00	1.30 · high	5.20 · good	20.10 · out of range	poor
Tue 06:00	1.30 · high	4.60 · good	20.10 · out of range	poor
Tue 07:00	1.30 · high	3.93 · good	20.00 · out of range	poor
Tue 08:00	1.30 · high	3.77 · good	20.00 · out of range	poor
Tue 09:00	1.30 · high	3.47 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Tue 10:00	1.30 · high	3.35 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Tue 11:00	1.32 · high	2.77 · good	19.80 · out of range	poor
Tue 12:00	1.32 · high	1.61 · good	19.80 · out of range	poor
Tue 13:00	1.32 · high	0.92 · good	19.80 · out of range	fair
Tue 14:00	1.30 · high	1.12 · good	19.90 · out of range	fair
Tue 15:00	1.30 · high	0.85 · good	19.90 · out of range	fair
Tue 16:00	1.28 · high	0.95 · good	19.90 · out of range	good
Tue 17:00	1.26 · high	0.81 · good	20.00 · out of range	good
Tue 18:00	1.24 · high	1.36 · good	20.00 · out of range	fair
Tue 19:00	1.22 · high	2.57 · good	20.10 · out of range	fair
Tue 20:00	1.22 · high	3.34 · good	20.20 · out of range	fair
Tue 21:00	1.20 · high	4.52 · good	20.20 · out of range	fair
Tue 22:00	1.22 · high	5.70 · high	20.30 · out of range	fair
Tue 23:00	1.26 · high	6.91 · high	20.30 · out of range	fair
Wed 00:00	1.28 · high	7.02 · high	20.40 · out of range	poor
Wed 01:00	1.32 · high	6.90 · high	20.40 · out of range	poor
Wed 02:00	1.36 · high	6.40 · high	20.30 · out of range	poor
Wed 03:00	1.40 · high	4.41 · good	20.30 · out of range	poor
Wed 04:00	1.42 · high	3.92 · good	20.20 · out of range	poor
Wed 05:00	1.46 · high	3.61 · good	20.20 · out of range	poor
Wed 06:00	1.48 · high	2.65 · good	20.10 · out of range	poor
Wed 07:00	1.50 · high	2.06 · good	20.10 · out of range	poor
Wed 08:00	1.50 · high	2.15 · good	20.00 · out of range	poor
Wed 09:00	1.52 · high	1.84 · good	20.00 · out of range	poor
Wed 10:00	1.52 · high	2.06 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Wed 11:00	1.50 · high	2.28 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Wed 12:00	1.50 · high	2.46 · good	19.90 · out of range	poor
Wed 13:00	1.48 · high	2.12 · good	20.00 · out of range	fair
Wed 14:00	1.46 · high	2.43 · good	20.00 · out of range	fair
Wed 15:00	1.44 · high	3.05 · good	20.10 · out of range	fair
Wed 16:00	1.42 · high	2.15 · good	20.20 · out of range	fair
Wed 17:00	1.38 · high	1.70 · good	20.30 · out of range	fair
Wed 18:00	1.36 · high	1.20 · good	20.40 · out of range	fair
Wed 19:00	1.34 · high	0.67 · good	20.40 · out of range	good
Wed 20:00	1.30 · high	2.28 · good	20.50 · out of range	fair
Wed 21:00	1.28 · high	3.94 · good	20.60 · good	fair
Wed 22:00	1.28 · high	5.57 · high	20.70 · good	fair
Wed 23:00	1.26 · high	5.89 · high	20.70 · good	fair
Thu 00:00	1.26 · high	4.80 · good	20.70 · good	poor
Thu 01:00	1.28 · high	4.73 · good	20.70 · good	poor
Thu 02:00	1.30 · high	4.18 · good	20.70 · good	poor
Thu 03:00	1.32 · high	3.35 · good	20.60 · good	poor
Thu 04:00	1.34 · high	2.33 · good	20.50 · out of range	poor
Thu 05:00	1.34 · high	2.30 · good	20.50 · out of range	poor
Thu 06:00	1.36 · high	1.75 · good	20.40 · out of range	poor
Thu 07:00	1.36 · high	1.94 · good	20.40 · out of range	poor
Thu 08:00	1.36 · high	3.56 · good	20.30 · out of range	poor