The dive score is a 0 to 100 summary of the live readings for a site. Every number on this page comes straight from the formula the site uses, so it always matches the scores you see.
What the verdicts mean
Favorable conditions: 75 and above
Caution: 50 to 74
No-Go: Below 50
What goes into it
Each factor turns a reading into 0 to 100 points, then the factors are averaged by these weights. A missing factor is left out and the rest are rescaled. Ocean sites weigh swell, wind, tide-side weather, and the short forecast. Inland sites weigh rain that has already fallen more than the forecast.
Recent rain is the last 72 hours of precipitation, with the last 24 hours counted heaviest, then 48, then 72. It applies to lakes, quarries, springs, and rivers. Storms and lightning in the next 6 hours stay a separate surface-safety factor for every site type. An estimated water temperature is shown on the page and is not used in the score.
Factor
Ocean
Inland: lakes, Great Lakes, quarries, springs, rivers, cenotes, sinkholes
Inland, rain history missing
Waves
35%
Not used
Not used
Wind
25%
15%
25%
Storms and lightning, next 6 hours
20%
15%
35%
Rain already fallen, last 72 hours
Not used
35%
Not used
Water temperature comfort
10%
20%
20%
Water clarity proxy
10%
15%
20%
How readings become points
Points change smoothly between the rows below. A reading between two rows gets points in proportion to where it falls.
Waves
Reading
Points
0 ft0 m
100
1.6 ft0.5 m
100
3.3 ft1 m
80
4.9 ft1.5 m
55
6.6 ft2 m
30
9.8 ft3 m
5
Wind at ocean sites
Reading
Points
0 mph0 km/h
100
9 mph14 km/h
100
16 mph25 km/h
75
22 mph36 km/h
40
31 mph50 km/h
10
Wind at inland sites
Reading
Points
0 mph0 km/h
100
11 mph18 km/h
100
20 mph32 km/h
70
29 mph47 km/h
40
40 mph65 km/h
15
Chance of rain in the next 6 hours
Reading
Points
0%
100
20%
100
50%
65
80%
35
100%
20
Water temperature comfort
Reading
Points
41°F5°C
30
50°F10°C
45
60.8°F16°C
65
69.8°F21°C
85
78.8°F26°C
100
Water clarity proxy
Reading
Points
0 FNU0 FNU
100
2 FNU2 FNU
100
5 FNU5 FNU
75
10 FNU10 FNU
50
25 FNU25 FNU
20
Rules that override the average
A site is only scored when at least 45% of the weighted inputs have live data. Otherwise the page says there is not enough data.
Stale readings are shown with a label but never scored.
When no wind station is close enough, the wind factor uses the forecast and is labeled as forecast.
Thunder in the forecast window caps the weather factor at 15 points.
An active hazardous weather or marine alert caps the whole score at 35.
Diver reports are shown in their own section and never change the score.
A site that is closed to diving, or whose closure we could not verify, gets no score. Its page shows the status, the source and the nearest open sites.
Payment never changes site order, the score, or which reading is shown.
Conditions are informational, not a dive plan. Check with the site or operator, dive within your training, and make your own go/no-go decision.