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Reading the current conditions

Where the live wind, swell, tide and weather numbers are, what each block on the Conditions tab shows, and where the numbers come from.

iPhone and AndroidHomeConditionsUpdated September 4, 2026

Also known as: wind, gusts, how hard is it blowing, how windy, knots, mph, wind direction, forecast, hourly, 7 day, weather, temperature, water temperature, fog, visibility, marine forecast, refresh, forecast as of, units, harbor

Slipside shows the same numbers in two places. Home gives you the headline at a glance; the Conditions tab gives you the full picture with charts. Both read the live station at the Santa Monica pier for wind and tide, the Santa Monica Bay wave buoy for swell, and a marine forecast model for the hours ahead.

The Now row on Home

  1. Open the app. Under the greeting and the Should I sail today? card is a row of tiles headed Now.

    Home with the Now row of Wind, Swell, Weather, Next Low and Water tiles

  2. Read the tiles from left to right: Wind (speed, gusts and the direction it is blowing from), Swell (height, period and direction), Weather (air temperature and sky), Next High or Next Low (the next tide turn and when), and Water (sea temperature). Swipe the row sideways to reach the tiles that do not fit.

  3. The small line at the bottom of each tile names its source. “CO-OPS 9410840” is the NOAA station at the Santa Monica pier, “Buoy 46221” is the wave buoy in Santa Monica Bay, and “Open-Meteo” means a forecast model, used when no live reading is available.

  4. Tap any tile to jump to that section of the Conditions tab, or tap Details next to the Now heading to open the tab at the top.

The Conditions tab

Tap Conditions in the bar at the bottom of the screen. The page is a stack of blocks, top to bottom: Wind, Wind Map, Swell & Waves, Tides, Weather, Visibility & Fog, Marine Forecast and 7-Day Outlook. Pull down anywhere on the page to refresh.

Wind

The Wind block on Conditions with the big speed, compass and 24 hour chart

The large number is the wind speed right now, with the direction it is coming from and the gusts underneath. The compass shows the same direction as an arrow. The line at the top right of the block says whether the number is Observed (a live reading from the pier station) or Forecast (the model’s number for this hour, used when the station has not reported recently).

The chart covers the next 24 hours. The solid line is wind and the dashed line is gusts. Drag a finger across the chart and the big number changes to the hour under your finger, with the time and gusts written beneath it; lift your finger and it returns to now. Under the chart, Current, Avg, Max and Gusts summarise the same 24 hours.

Wind Map

A live, animated map of the wind over the bay. Tap it to open the full-screen version with swell, current and the buoys. See Using the wind map.

Swell & Waves and Tides

Wave height, period and direction, and a 48-hour tide curve with the next highs and lows. See Tides, swell and water temperature.

Weather

The Weather block with air temperature, high and low, water temperature and the 12 hour strip

Air temperature and the sky right now, today’s high and low, the water temperature, and a 12-hour strip of temperature and sky by the hour. The first cell is always Now.

Visibility & Fog

The Visibility & Fog block showing miles of visibility and the three-light indicator

Visibility in miles with a three-light indicator: green for GOOD VISIBILITY, amber for REDUCED VISIBILITY (under 3 miles) and red for DENSE FOG / LOW VIS (under 1 mile, or fog reported). When fog is reported the block reminds you to carry a radar reflector and use sound signals in the channel.

Marine Forecast

The Marine Forecast block with the NWS zone forecast periods

The National Weather Service text forecast for the coastal waters zone that covers Marina del Rey (PZZ655, the inner waters from Point Mugu to San Mateo Point). The first two periods show by default; tap Show N more to read the rest and Show less to fold them away. The line under the title tells you when the forecast was issued.

7-Day Outlook

The 7-Day Outlook block with a row per day

One row per day: the sky, the strongest wind expected that day, and the low and high temperature. Today is the first row.

Which harbor you are reading

The wordmark at the top of every screen reads SLIPSIDE:MDR while you are looking at Marina del Rey. Tap the small location pin and arrow next to it to see the list of harbors. Your home harbor is marked Home harbor; when you pick another harbor the suffix turns amber so you always know whose wind you are reading. In version 1.0 Marina del Rey is the only live harbor, so the list has one entry. You change your home harbor in Profile under Home harbor.

Changing the units

  1. Tap your avatar (or the person icon) at the top right to open Profile.
  2. Scroll to Units & Display.
  3. Pick kt or mph for Wind speed, ft or m for Heights, and °F or °C for Temperature. Every screen switches at once.

How fresh the numbers are

The footer on Home reads Updated N min ago with the station it came from. Pull down on Home or Conditions to fetch again. If a data source is slow or down, Slipside keeps showing the last good forecast and marks it with an amber Forecast as of [time] pill near the top of the page, so you can tell how old the numbers are.

The station readings are observations, not a guarantee of what is happening at your slip or outside the breakwater. The footer on Conditions says it plainly: not for navigation. Look at the water before you leave the dock.

Still stuck? In the app, open Profile, then Help & Support, and use Send to support. Otherwise email support@slipside.app.