Every number on this site starts at one of these instruments. This page shows each one, its last reading and its recent history, and nothing predicted.
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Pick a sensor on the map or in the list.
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One number rarely tells the story. Read a few together and the weather shows up in the data. Each sensor card above also says what each of its numbers means.
A long-period swell (13 s or more) from the west or northwest, light wind or a wind blowing off the land at that beach (east at Carmel, north at Santa Cruz), and rising pressure: lined-up, glassy waves. Mornings are best before the northwest breeze fills in.
Look at: Wave period and direction at the buoys, wind direction at Monterey Harbor and the airports, pressure trend.
Strong northwest wind for a day or more, then the water temperature drops into the low 50s °F or below and chlorophyll climbs: cold, green, murky water with poor visibility for divers, plenty of life, and often fog.
Look at: Wind speed and direction, water temperature, chlorophyll at the Aquarium intake.
Pressure falling more than 3 mb in 3 hours, wind turning to the south or southeast and gusts climbing: a front is coming with rain and wind. A big, long-period swell often arrives behind it.
Look at: Pressure history, wind direction and gusts, then wave height and period over the next day.
Small waves at the bay buoy (under about 3 ft), modest period, light morning wind and low, steady turbidity with no rain in the last few days. A long-period swell, even a small one, still surges on the bottom.
Look at: Wave height and period at buoy 46236, morning wind, turbidity at the Monterey Wharf.
A cloud ceiling under about 1,500 ft and visibility dropping, air temperature close to the water, and a light west or northwest breeze: the marine layer is in. A hot day inland pulls it further ashore.
Look at: Cloud ceiling and visibility at the airports, air and water temperature.
Water much warmer than usual at the surface and 200 ft down, the sea running above the tide table, and weaker upwelling: often clearer but less productive water, warm-water visitors, and whales feeding closer to shore. Predictions built on normal years go wrong, so trust the measurements first.
Look at: Water temperature at the buoys and the M1 mooring at 60 m, the tide gauge against the table.
Satellite products draw on the map above. Each shows when its newest pass was.
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Everything on this page was measured. Nothing here is a forecast.
These are models, not instruments, and we use them on Ocean now: CDIP MOP nearshore wave model, Open-Meteo marine and weather, NOAA tide tables (predictions), NWS forecasts, our own ratings and the two automated dive forecasters.
Ocean now Forecasts against what happened
Not yet read by us: HF radar surface currents, buoy 46240.
Buoy, tide and weather data are NOAA public-domain observations. Water sensors and weekly samples come from CeNCOOS, SCCOOS and CalHABMAP, the hydrophone from MBARI. Each sensor card links to its operator.