How the Beach Score works
The Beach Score is a number from 0 to 10 for one hour at one beach, worked out from the forecast for wind, waves, weather, air temperature, water temperature and UV. It rates how pleasant the hour is for a beach day. It is not a safety rating.
Score version 1. Same rules for every beach in the world, recalculated with every forecast update.
What counts, and how much
Each part earns between zero and its full points. The score is the points earned out of the points available, scaled to 10. 6 of the 8 parts have live data today, worth 85 of 100 possible points.
| Part | Points | Full points | Data today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | 25 | No chance of rain, no rain and a clear sky. Rain chance and rainfall count most; cloud alone costs at most 40% of the points. | Open-Meteo forecast |
| Air temperature | 15 | 24 to 31°C (75 to 88°F). No points at 15°C (59°F) or below; points fall again above 31°C, to 30% at 38°C (100°F). | Open-Meteo forecast |
| Wind | 15 | Up to 12 km/h (7 mph). 20% of the points at 30 km/h (19 mph), none from 40 km/h (25 mph). Gusts over 45 km/h cost 20% more. | Open-Meteo forecast |
| Waves | 15 | Up to 0.5 m (1.6 ft). Half the points at 1.5 m (5 ft), 10% at 2.5 m (8 ft), none from 3 m (10 ft). | Open-Meteo marine model |
| Water temperature | 10 | 22 to 30°C (72 to 86°F). No points at 14°C (57°F) or below. | Open-Meteo marine model |
| UV | 5 | UV index up to 8. 40% of the points at 11 and 30% from 13: only extreme UV costs points, sunny days are not punished. | Open-Meteo forecast |
| Tide | 10 | Only where a tide suitability value is supplied. | Not available |
| Crowding | 5 | Only where a crowding value is supplied. | Not available |
How the points turn into a score
The points earned are added up, divided by the points available and scaled to 10. Rain then scales the whole score: a wet hour cannot score well however calm and warm it is. Hours after dark get no score.
A thunderstorm in the forecast caps the hour at 3, whatever else is good.
| Score | Label |
|---|---|
| 8.5 to 10 | Excellent |
| 7 to 8.4 | Great |
| 5.5 to 6.9 | Good |
| 4 to 5.4 | Fair |
| Under 4 | Poor |
Flag colors follow the score: green from 7, yellow from 4 to under 7, red under 4 or whenever a cap applies. Every color sits next to the number and the word.
What we do not know, and never guess
Rip current risk, water quality, tide suitability and crowding are part of the score design but we have no data for them, so they are not in any score today. We never infer them. Where a page says "not available", that is what it means. Rip current and water quality data are not available for any beach on Check the Beach: check local flags and lifeguards.
When a part has no data for an hour (for example waves at an inland lake), it is left out and the others are scaled up to fill the gap. Confidence is high when 85% or more of the points have data, medium from 60%, and limited below that. An hour needs at least the weather or the air temperature to get a score.
Where the data comes from
Weather, wind, UV, wave height and sea surface temperature come from the Open-Meteo forecast and marine models for the 0.1 degree grid cell that holds the beach. Beaches in the same cell share one forecast, so two beaches close together can show the same numbers. Forecast models are estimates, not measurements at the beach. See our data sources.
Changes
The weights, curves and caps are versioned. Version 1 has been in use since launch and has not changed.