The data behind FISH

Live conditions from Springmaid Pier

Tide, water level, water temperature, air temperature, wind and air pressure come from NOAA tide station 8661070 at Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach. The station updates every 6 minutes.

• Tide predictions and current water level
• Water temperature, which can shift the seasonal outlook earlier or later when it runs warm or cool
• Air temperature, wind and barometric pressure

National Weather Service forecasts

Hourly conditions, thunderstorm probability, wave forecast, active alerts, the coastal waters forecast for zone AMZ254, and the Surf Zone Forecast for Coastal Horry, including rip current risk and surf height, all come from the NWS Wilmington office.

• Hourly forecast for the time window you pick
• Coastal waters forecast for AMZ254
• Surf Zone Forecast for Coastal Horry, including rip current risk

Sunrise, twilight and tide math

First light, sunrise and sunset are calculated for your chosen date and location. Tides are read from the Springmaid Pier station and matched to your time window, so the verdict reflects the stage of the tide and how hard the water is moving.

Where each fact comes from

Every piece of information in FISH carries one of four labels.

• Official source: state and federal agencies such as SC DNR, NOAA and the National Weather Service.
• Angler knowledge: local reports and common practice on the beach.
• Our inference: our own reasoning, shown as such.
• Unknown: left blank rather than guessed.

When a source is down

If a feed is down, that reading shows as Unavailable with the reason.

Shown but not scored

Barometric pressure and moon phase appear on the page for context, but they are not folded into the outlook. No solid evidence was found that they predict surf catches, so they are reported rather than used to move your score.