NOAA tides, NWS weather, NDBC buoys and wildlife reports: what each source actually tells you
The source map behind the radar and the limits that prevent false precision.
NOAA CO-OPS
CO-OPS provides official station metadata, tide predictions and observed water levels. These are the backbone of the tide and anomaly layers.
National Weather Service
NWS point forecasts and active alerts supply short-range weather context. Forecast coverage is not extended beyond what the source actually publishes.
National Data Buoy Center
NDBC realtime text feeds supply current wave height, dominant period, wind and water temperature where the selected buoy reports them.
iNaturalist
Recent research-grade observations can provide a public wildlife recency signal. Reporting effort varies widely, so counts are never presented as abundance estimates.
USGS
The USGS earthquake feed is used only as regional context for notable recent seismic activity, never as a tsunami forecast. Official tsunami alerts come from authorized warning systems.