Marine Conditions: Know Before You Go

Before heading out for any activities in a national marine sanctuary, you should always check the weather conditions, marine forecasts, tides, and currents. If conditions do not look favorable in the area for your chosen activity, consider altering your plans until conditions improve. When in doubt, don't go out.

a weather radar map of the United States

NOAA National Weather Service

Visit the National Weather Service to obtain the latest weather conditions, forecasts, and possible warnings or advisories.

: a vector map with colors and arrows indicating the dominant wave direction within the Atlantic ocean.

NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center

NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center issues forecasts, analyses, and warnings for open-ocean and coastal marine environments to support weather prediction, maritime safety, and navigation.

a line graph with red and blue lines showing water levels and predictions

NOAA Tides and Currents

Use NOAA's tides and currents map to access real-time meteorological and oceanographic data and look up information on local tides from NOAA stations.

a person in a hard hat and life jacket deploys a large yellow buoy from a ship into the ocean

NOAA National Data Buoy Center

NOAA's National Data Buoy Center provides real-time and historical marine and meteorological observations from buoys, ships, and coastal stations to support weather forecasting, ocean research, and public safety.

a map of global ship traffic showing the world's ocean basins and major inland waterways with colored arrows that indicate various types of vessels or ships

AIS Marine Traffic

View real-time global ship traffic with the Automatic Identification System (AIS). This tool helps recreational boaters stay aware of nearby vessel activity, avoid congested areas, and navigate safely.

Location-Specific Marine Conditions

The table below contains links to National Weather Service marine and weather forecasts and the National Data Buoy Center's network of data collecting buoys and coastal stations closest to each national marine sanctuary.

National Marine Sanctuary	Marine Forecast	Nearby Buoy Station Data
American Samoa	Forecast	51209
Channel Islands	Forecast	46249 182
Chumash Heritage	Forecast	46218
Cordell Bank	Forecast	46214 46013 PRYC1
Florida Keys	Forecast	PLSF1 SANF1 SMKF1 LONF1 MLRF1 FWYF1 KYWF1 VCAF1 BNKF1 BWSF1 HCEF1 LBSF1 LSNF1 PKYF1
Flower Garden Banks	Forecast	42046 42047 KHQI
Gray's Reef	Forecast	41008
Greater Farallones	Forecast	46013 46241 PRYC1 46026 46247 46237
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale	Forecast	51203 51201 KNOH1
Lake Ontario	Forecast	45215 45012
Mallows Bay	Forecast	NCDV2
Monitor	Forecast	41025
Monterey Bay	Forecast	MTYC1 46012 46042 46114 46091 46092 46093 46236 46329 46240 ELQC1 46237 MLSC1
Olympic Coast	Forecast	LAPW1 46041 NEAW1 46087 DESW1
Papahānaumokuākea	Forecast	SNDP5 51001
Stellwagen Bank	Forecast	44029
Thunder Bay	Forecast	45162 Alpena, MI APNM4 LPNM4 45003 TBIM4 PRIM4 SPTM4
Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast	Forecast	Shipwreck Sentinel 45218 Port Washington Sheboygan Two Rivers SGNW3 KWNW3

Note: This is not a complete listing of all available weather or observation products. For a complete suite of marine forecasts, please visit the National Weather Service's Ocean Prediction Center. For a complete list of all ocean buoy and coastal station real-time or historical data, visit the National Data Buoy Center. To access your local water levels, tide and current predictions, and other oceanographic and meteorological conditions, visit NOAA's Tides and Currents portal.