Why they're better:
SURFcasts.com goes one step beyond what traditional surf forecasting sites do: instead of just giving you the information that is pulled constantly from weather buoys, we process it so that the "Score" you see for each break takes into account the important conditions that make waves surfable. Traditionally, the data that comes from weather buoys is geared for mariners and fisherman who are interested in the conditions far offshore, not at your favorite beach break. Therefore the core data that you might read off of a weather buoy might not give you a good idea of actual conditions where you want to go surfing.

That's where our new "formula" comes into play. We've created a new way of quantifying the important data that comes from these buoys so that the conditions at any moment in time can be evaluated for their 'surfability.' Currently there is NO other site that takes into account all of the variables we use.

Every report we generate is unique by spot. This means that even though two breaks might both have a 10 ft. swell and a 12 second wave period, they probably won't have the same score- one might be scoring a 40 while the other is only getting a 20. Even though the 40 will almost definitely be better, if you were to look at just the data they would look almost identical.

How you should use them:
Like many things, we think SURFcasts improve with time. Actually, what we're trying to say is that after checking your break's SURFcast a couple of times you will start to get an excellent idea of what the number actually means. Even though we try to sum it up for you on our Score Chart, to get the most out of any forecast require a little local know-how. After a bit of getting used to it's fairly easy to figure out how much better a 30 is than an 18 at your favorite spot.

Our favorite thing about SURFcasts though is that it makes it clear and easy to compare different spots. We think this is one of the most useful ways to use our reports. Although there is no way to say conclusively which spot is better without looking at the waves (and even then we might disagree), we've found that when two spots vary by more than 8-10 points you can be fairly certain which spot is better at that time.

Data:
The core data from which our reports are generated comes from NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) and specifically the NDBC (National Data Buoy Center).