how sargassum buddy tracks beach conditions

what we observe manually

Every update includes photos and short videos taken at the shoreline: the beach looking north, the beach looking south, the water surface, water clarity, the sand and the sky. From those observations we record the seaweed (sargassum) level, a smell note and the beach flag that was posted at the time.

observation point and frequency

The observation point is a single beach access in Surfside, Miami-Dade (approximately 25.88°N, 80.13°W), in the greater Miami Beach coastal area. Observations are made manually, normally once per day around 11:00 AM local time (America/New_York). Automatic environmental data refreshes roughly every 5 minutes while the page is open.

where each metric comes from

• Sargassum level, smell and beach notes — Sargassum Buddy visual observations from the Surfside monitoring point. Not an automated feed.
• Air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, rain probability, UV index, sky condition — Open-Meteo Forecast API.
• Wave height / tide chart — Open-Meteo Marine API (significant wave height, converted to feet). If the marine feed is unavailable, a generic tidal curve is shown as a placeholder and should not be treated as measured data.
• Swimming conditions — the beach flag colour physically posted at the observation point on the day, recorded by Sargassum Buddy. It is a record of what we saw, not an official feed from the lifeguard service.
• Moon phase — calculated inside the app from the standard synodic lunar cycle (29.53 days) relative to a known new moon date. No external provider.

what the seaweed levels mean

These labels are defined by Sargassum Buddy and are descriptive, not measured:

• None / Clear — essentially no seaweed on the sand or in the shallows.
• Small — a thin or broken seaweed line, easy to walk around.
• Medium — a continuous seaweed line along the waterline, noticeable when entering the water.
• A lot / Heavy — thick accumulation on the sand and in the surf.
• Extreme — deep piles covering much of the beach and the entry to the water.

timestamps and timezone

All observation dates and times shown on the site are local Miami time (America/New_York). Weather charts show a 24-hour view for the current local day.

limitations

A single observation point cannot represent every block of the Miami Beach coastline. Sargassum can differ substantially within a few hundred metres and can change during the same day due to wind, currents, tides and municipal cleanup. Information may be out of date. Sargassum Buddy is not a government agency, weather service or lifeguard station and is not an official warning system. Always follow posted beach flags and lifeguard instructions.

keep reading

See today's Miami Beach beach conditions or recent beach conditions history.