Routine / lower signal
The available planning signals are comparatively ordinary or less aligned. This does not mean bad, boring or unsafe — only that the engine sees less reason to elevate this Coast Desk right now.
55 is not “55% good.” Here is what Coast Pulse actually means.
Understand the CoastEventRadar Coast Pulse 0–100 scale, its four bands, source components, missing-data behavior and why an active coastal alert caps the overall score at 55.
Coast Pulse scale0–100 interest/context score
0–54Routine55–69Mixed70–84Closer look85–100Strong
What the number means: higher means the available tide, wave and short-range weather signals are more unusual or useful for planning. It is not a safety grade, probability, beach-quality score or guarantee. An active NWS coastal alert caps the overall Pulse at 55.
Mixed but interesting
At least some available signals stand out enough to justify a closer look. A score of exactly 55 may also be the alert cap when an active NWS coastal alert is returned.
Worth a closer look
Several available inputs align or one signal is notably strong. Open the full Coast Desk before deciding: the component rows and official alert layer matter more than the headline number.
Strong interest signal
The available components are unusually aligned for the engine’s planning purpose. This remains an interest/context result — never an all-clear for entering the water or visiting a specific shoreline.
What goes into the homepage number?
The lightweight homepage Pulse uses the available tidepooling opportunity, coastal-photography opportunity, current NDBC wave signal and NWS beach-day weather context. The homepage intentionally does not wait for wildlife or seismic context.
The score is the average of the numeric components that actually returned. Missing components stay missing rather than being silently converted to zero.
Why can the location score differ?
The full Coast Desk loads more sources. Its overall score can also include the recent public wildlife-reporting pulse, while individual activity rows remain visible so you can see whether the headline is being driven by tide, waves, weather, wildlife or a combination.
Observed water anomaly is shown as context, but it is not secretly converted into a flood or safety verdict.
Why an active coastal alert caps the score at 55.
Interesting conditions and official warnings can happen at the same time. If the NWS point query returns an active coastal alert, CoastEventRadar caps the overall Pulse at 55. The alert remains a separate official layer and should be read before the score.
Absence of an alert is not an all-clear either.
What Coast Pulse deliberately is not.
- Not a probability of a good trip.
- Not a swimming, surfing or tidepooling safety rating.
- Not a beach-quality or water-quality grade.
- Not a national percentile across every U.S. beach.
- Not a replacement for local access rules or lifeguard guidance.
READ A 55 CORRECTLY
Example: “55 · Mixed but interesting”
Read that as: “some source-backed planning signals are interesting enough to inspect, but the combined picture is not strongly aligned.” If an official coastal alert is active, 55 can instead mean the underlying average was higher but the headline was capped so the warning cannot be visually buried.
Inspect the components
The fastest way to use the score is to click the Coast Desk, then read the tide, anomaly, buoy, weather, alerts and activity rows underneath it.
Full scoring methodology →