What is the best time of day to snorkel in Dry Tortugas?

Snorkel in daylight, if possible in the morning before the wind picks up. Currents are often weaker near high slack tide. SnorkelForecast scores each daylight hour for Dry Tortugas.

What is the best tide for snorkeling?

High slack tide, within about an hour of the high-tide peak, often has weaker currents. Strong low tides and tidal flow near channels or headlands reduce the score.

Dry Tortugas Snorkel Report Today

USA · Updated Mon 12:52 (EDT) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Go in the best window Data updated Mon 12:52 (EDT)

Dry Tortugas has a usable snorkeling window around Mon 15:00. The main thing to watch is sea temperature.

Right now (forecast)

Fair · 5.1/10

Mon 13:00 (EDT)

Later today

Good · 6.9/10

Mon 18:00 (EDT)

Next three days

Good · 6.9/10

Mon 18:00 (EDT)

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

Score: 6.9/10

Best time: Mon 15:00

Main risk: Sea Temperature

No useful morning window is showing yet.

Best afternoon signal: Mon 18:00 (Good). Peak afternoon wind is about 5.8 m/s.

Email me when it is good

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

Sunrise

07:19

Sunset

19:28

Water

31.1°C

Max air

28.4°C

Sky

Cloudy

100% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Mon 15:00–19:00 (27% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Monday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Sea temperature

Tuesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Sea temperature

Wednesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Sea temperature

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Mon 15:00 and lasts until 19:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Sea temperature (70 hours)
Tide/current (50 hours)
Darkness (36 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Mon 16:00.

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 07:00

Tue 07:00, Tue 21:00, Wed 21:00

Nearby alternatives in USA

Looe Key

149 km away

✅ Good

Bahia Honda

161 km away

✅ Good

Key Largo

250 km away

✅ Good

Crystal River

476 km away

✅ Good

Advanced forecast data

Viewing historical data

Thu 13:00 – Sun 13:00 (EDT)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.53 around Fri 12:00; 12 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.

10/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.34m to 0.48m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 17/24 sampled hours (range 3.29 to 6.71m/s).

Tides range from -0.31m to 0.15m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

Thu 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 19:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Thu 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Thu 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Thu 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Thu 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 00:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 01:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 02:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 03:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 04:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 05:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 06:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 07:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Fri 08:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 12:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 14:00 Good 🌟 Good

Fri 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Fri 19:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 13:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 16:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 17:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 19:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 09:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 12:00 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
Thu 13:00	0.48 · high	4.13 · good	31.50 · out of range	Fair
Thu 14:00	0.46 · high	4.08 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 15:00	0.44 · high	4.22 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 16:00	0.38 · high	3.56 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 17:00	0.36 · good	3.29 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 18:00	0.36 · good	3.81 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 19:00	0.34 · good	4.11 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Thu 20:00	0.34 · good	3.91 · good	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Thu 21:00	0.36 · good	4.63 · good	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Thu 22:00	0.36 · good	4.72 · good	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Thu 23:00	0.38 · high	4.93 · good	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Fri 00:00	0.40 · high	5.53 · high	31.40 · out of range	Poor
Fri 01:00	0.40 · high	6.15 · high	31.40 · out of range	Poor
Fri 02:00	0.42 · high	6.36 · high	31.40 · out of range	Poor
Fri 03:00	0.44 · high	6.71 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Fri 04:00	0.44 · high	6.50 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Fri 05:00	0.46 · high	6.28 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Fri 06:00	0.44 · high	5.69 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Fri 07:00	0.36 · good	4.08 · good	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Fri 08:00	0.38 · high	4.12 · good	31.20 · out of range	Fair
Fri 09:00	0.38 · high	4.30 · good	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Fri 10:00	0.36 · good	4.67 · good	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Fri 11:00	0.36 · good	5.06 · good	31.40 · out of range	Fair
Fri 12:00	0.34 · good	4.24 · good	31.50 · out of range	Fair
Fri 13:00	0.34 · good	4.03 · good	31.60 · out of range	Good
Fri 14:00	0.32 · good	4.03 · good	31.60 · out of range	Good
Fri 15:00	0.32 · good	3.91 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Fri 16:00	0.40 · high	4.36 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Fri 17:00	0.42 · high	4.63 · good	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Fri 18:00	0.42 · high	5.07 · good	31.50 · out of range	Fair
Fri 19:00	0.40 · high	5.02 · good	31.50 · out of range	Fair
Fri 20:00	0.40 · high	4.92 · good	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Fri 21:00	0.38 · high	4.73 · good	31.40 · out of range	Poor
Fri 22:00	0.38 · high	5.54 · high	31.40 · out of range	Poor
Fri 23:00	0.36 · good	6.10 · high	31.40 · out of range	Poor
Sat 00:00	0.38 · high	6.39 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Sat 01:00	0.40 · high	6.44 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Sat 02:00	0.42 · high	6.17 · high	31.30 · out of range	Poor
Sat 03:00	0.46 · high	5.95 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 04:00	0.50 · high	5.99 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 05:00	0.54 · high	6.48 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 06:00	0.52 · high	6.85 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 07:00	0.46 · high	6.70 · high	31.00 · out of range	Poor
Sat 08:00	0.44 · high	6.27 · high	31.00 · out of range	Fair
Sat 09:00	0.42 · high	5.82 · high	31.00 · out of range	Fair
Sat 10:00	0.42 · high	5.69 · high	31.10 · out of range	Fair
Sat 11:00	0.40 · high	5.46 · high	31.10 · out of range	Fair
Sat 12:00	0.40 · high	5.50 · high	31.20 · out of range	Good
Sat 13:00	0.38 · high	5.91 · high	31.20 · out of range	Fair
Sat 14:00	0.38 · high	6.17 · high	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Sat 15:00	0.38 · high	6.17 · high	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Sat 16:00	0.30 · good	5.77 · high	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Sat 17:00	0.30 · good	6.13 · high	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Sat 18:00	0.32 · good	6.38 · high	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Sat 19:00	0.34 · good	5.52 · high	31.20 · out of range	Fair
Sat 20:00	0.36 · good	5.52 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 21:00	0.38 · high	6.02 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 22:00	0.40 · high	6.05 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sat 23:00	0.42 · high	6.67 · high	31.20 · out of range	Poor
Sun 00:00	0.42 · high	7.13 · high	31.10 · out of range	Poor
Sun 01:00	0.42 · high	5.63 · high	31.10 · out of range	Poor
Sun 02:00	0.42 · high	5.44 · high	31.10 · out of range	Poor
Sun 03:00	0.42 · high	5.10 · good	31.10 · out of range	Poor
Sun 04:00	0.42 · high	5.20 · good	31.00 · out of range	Poor
Sun 05:00	0.42 · high	5.60 · high	31.00 · out of range	Poor
Sun 06:00	0.42 · high	4.49 · good	31.00 · out of range	Poor
Sun 07:00	0.40 · high	2.40 · good	31.00 · out of range	Poor
Sun 08:00	0.36 · good	2.22 · good	31.10 · out of range	Fair
Sun 09:00	0.34 · good	2.77 · good	31.10 · out of range	Good
Sun 10:00	0.32 · good	3.01 · good	31.20 · out of range	Good
Sun 11:00	0.30 · good	2.71 · good	31.30 · out of range	Fair
Sun 12:00	0.28 · good	1.91 · good	31.40 · out of range	Good