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 Tue 00:44 (EDT) · Source: Snapshot

The skinny

Go in the best window Data updated Tue 00:44 (EDT)

Dry Tortugas has a usable snorkeling window around Tue 08:00. The main thing to watch is sea temperature.

Right now (forecast)

Poor · 0.0/10

Tue 00:00 (EDT)

Later today

Good · 5.8/10

Tue 08:00 (EDT)

Next three days

Excellent · 7.5/10

Thu 10:00 (EDT)

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

Score: 5.8/10

Best time: Tue 08:00

Main risk: Sea Temperature

Best morning signal: Tue 08:00 (Good).

Best afternoon signal: Tue 14:00 (Good). Peak afternoon wind is about 7.8 m/s.

Email me when it is good

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

Sunrise

07:20

Sunset

19:27

Water

30.9°C

Max air

28.9°C

Sky

Clear

2% cloud

Good model window in the next 72 hours

Next good model window: Tue 08:00–09:00 (30% of the next 72h meets the model threshold)

3-day planner Best available Show data

3-day planner

Tuesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Sea temperature

Wednesday

✅ Good conditions

Main blocker: Sea temperature

Thursday

✅ Excellent conditions

Main blocker: Sea temperature

Best available hours

The next good model window starts at Tue 08:00 and lasts until 09:00.

Why this verdict

Main blockers across the next 72 hours:

Sea temperature (71 hours)
Tide/current (51 hours)
Darkness (35 hours)

Jellyfish drift risk

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

Low · 34/100

Low peak drift risk around Tue 17:00.

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, Thu 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

Sat 00:00 – Tue 00:00 (EDT)

Previous day Yesterday Next day Live

Snorkel Score (selected 24h)

Best snorkel score is 0.69 around Sat 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.

24/24 sampled hours stay at or below 0.36m (range 0.2m to 0.3m).

Wind is at or below 5.4m/s in 16/24 sampled hours (range 3.42 to 7.0m/s).

Tides range from -0.32m to 0.07m; 1 of 24 hours are in or near peak slack windows.

72-hour historical overview

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 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 09:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 11:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 14:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sat 16:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 18:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sat 19:00 Good 🌟 Good

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 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 10:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 11:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 14:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 15:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 16:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 18:00 Fair ⚠️ Fair

Sun 19:00 Good 🌟 Good

Sun 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Sun 23:00 Poor ❌ Limited

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 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 09:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 10:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 11:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 12:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 13:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 14:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 15:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 16:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 17:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 18:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 19:00 Good 🌟 Good

Mon 20:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 21:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 22:00 Poor ❌ Limited

Mon 23:00 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 is better in daylight, so night hours score lower.

Detailed hourly data table

Time	Wave (m)	Wind (m/s)	Sea temp (°C)	Status
Sat 00:00	0.20 · good	4.10 · good	31.80 · out of range	Poor
Sat 01:00	0.20 · good	5.48 · high	31.80 · out of range	Poor
Sat 02:00	0.20 · good	5.53 · high	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sat 03:00	0.20 · good	5.34 · good	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sat 04:00	0.20 · good	4.90 · good	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sat 05:00	0.20 · good	5.36 · good	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Sat 06:00	0.22 · good	5.57 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Sat 07:00	0.26 · good	5.55 · high	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sat 08:00	0.26 · good	5.54 · high	31.70 · out of range	Good
Sat 09:00	0.26 · good	5.38 · good	31.80 · out of range	Fair
Sat 10:00	0.26 · good	5.04 · good	31.80 · out of range	Good
Sat 11:00	0.26 · good	4.20 · good	31.90 · out of range	Good
Sat 12:00	0.26 · good	4.20 · good	31.90 · out of range	Good
Sat 13:00	0.26 · good	4.18 · good	32.00 · out of range	Good
Sat 14:00	0.26 · good	3.64 · good	32.00 · out of range	Good
Sat 15:00	0.26 · good	3.42 · good	32.00 · out of range	Fair
Sat 16:00	0.30 · good	3.83 · good	32.10 · out of range	Good
Sat 17:00	0.28 · good	3.93 · good	32.10 · out of range	Good
Sat 18:00	0.26 · good	3.89 · good	32.10 · out of range	Good
Sat 19:00	0.26 · good	4.30 · good	32.00 · out of range	Good
Sat 20:00	0.24 · good	4.81 · good	32.00 · out of range	Poor
Sat 21:00	0.24 · good	5.76 · high	32.00 · out of range	Poor
Sat 22:00	0.26 · good	6.60 · high	32.00 · out of range	Poor
Sat 23:00	0.26 · good	7.00 · high	31.90 · out of range	Poor
Sun 00:00	0.26 · good	7.32 · high	31.90 · out of range	Poor
Sun 01:00	0.26 · good	6.90 · high	31.80 · out of range	Poor
Sun 02:00	0.26 · good	6.80 · high	31.80 · out of range	Poor
Sun 03:00	0.28 · good	6.75 · high	31.80 · out of range	Poor
Sun 04:00	0.30 · good	6.62 · high	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sun 05:00	0.32 · good	7.25 · high	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sun 06:00	0.32 · good	7.68 · high	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sun 07:00	0.32 · good	7.46 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Sun 08:00	0.36 · good	7.48 · high	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Sun 09:00	0.36 · good	7.44 · high	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Sun 10:00	0.38 · high	7.27 · high	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Sun 11:00	0.38 · high	6.07 · high	31.60 · out of range	Fair
Sun 12:00	0.36 · good	5.22 · good	31.60 · out of range	Good
Sun 13:00	0.36 · good	4.83 · good	31.70 · out of range	Good
Sun 14:00	0.34 · good	4.36 · good	31.70 · out of range	Fair
Sun 15:00	0.32 · good	4.07 · good	31.70 · out of range	Fair
Sun 16:00	0.30 · good	3.63 · good	31.70 · out of range	Good
Sun 17:00	0.30 · good	4.11 · good	31.70 · out of range	Good
Sun 18:00	0.30 · good	4.59 · good	31.70 · out of range	Fair
Sun 19:00	0.28 · good	4.71 · good	31.70 · out of range	Good
Sun 20:00	0.28 · good	5.12 · good	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sun 21:00	0.28 · good	5.00 · good	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Sun 22:00	0.30 · good	5.68 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Sun 23:00	0.30 · good	6.17 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Mon 00:00	0.30 · good	6.57 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Mon 01:00	0.30 · good	7.86 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Mon 02:00	0.30 · good	7.81 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Mon 03:00	0.28 · good	7.69 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor
Mon 04:00	0.28 · good	7.28 · high	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Mon 05:00	0.26 · good	6.83 · high	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Mon 06:00	0.26 · good	6.22 · high	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Mon 07:00	0.26 · good	5.66 · high	31.50 · out of range	Poor
Mon 08:00	0.26 · good	5.35 · good	31.50 · out of range	Good
Mon 09:00	0.26 · good	5.42 · high	31.60 · out of range	Good
Mon 10:00	0.26 · good	4.81 · good	31.60 · out of range	Good
Mon 11:00	0.26 · good	4.66 · good	31.70 · out of range	Good
Mon 12:00	0.26 · good	4.61 · good	31.80 · out of range	Good
Mon 13:00	0.24 · good	3.52 · good	31.80 · out of range	Good
Mon 14:00	0.24 · good	3.30 · good	31.90 · out of range	Good
Mon 15:00	0.24 · good	3.54 · good	31.90 · out of range	Good
Mon 16:00	0.22 · good	3.35 · good	31.90 · out of range	Good
Mon 17:00	0.22 · good	4.24 · good	31.80 · out of range	Good
Mon 18:00	0.22 · good	3.96 · good	31.80 · out of range	Good
Mon 19:00	0.22 · good	4.12 · good	31.80 · out of range	Good
Mon 20:00	0.26 · good	4.66 · good	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Mon 21:00	0.26 · good	5.11 · good	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Mon 22:00	0.24 · good	6.26 · high	31.70 · out of range	Poor
Mon 23:00	0.24 · good	6.99 · high	31.60 · out of range	Poor