GREAT LAKES
SURF REPORT
They’re called Great
for a reason.
The coast is a state of mind.
The wave height is a NOAA number.
Find the heavy water.
Tuning in…
Real marine grids. No imaginary swell.
Blue dashed line: estimated illuminated lunar disc, 0–100% on the right axis. Daily moon readings are at the displayed wave-peak hour. Cloud and horizon conditions affect actual moonlight.
VIEW HOURLY NUMBERS +
| Local time | Wave ft | Period s | Wind kt | From | Gust kt | Moon lit % ≈ | Moon horizon ≈ |
|---|
Pick your kind of night.
Full / new windows mean ±24 hours from the exact phase, intersected with Night Shift’s 20:00–06:00 local hours. Phase is not a wave predictor or a measure of danger. Clouds, moonrise and moonset also affect visibility. Moon illustrations are schematic. Hourly illumination and horizon position in the wave forecast are astronomical estimates from SunCalc, not observed light levels. Exact phase dates here come from USNO.
OFFICIAL USNO MOON PHASES ↗Big talk.
No made-up swell.
Good waves don’t book two weeks in advance. This desk shows wave forecasts only as far as NOAA supplies them. Check back as the next system moves into range.
NOAA’s extended outlooks describe temperature, precipitation and broader hazards. They are weather context, not a surf forecast or a promised wave height.
“They mostly come
out at night.”
That’s the newsroom motto. The atmosphere has not signed off on it. Night Shift shows the actual overnight forecast—sometimes it’s heavy, sometimes the lake has other plans.
NITETIME / INLAND SEAS BUREAURead the water. Read the fine print.
What these numbers mean
NOAA / National Weather Service marine grid forecasts at selected coordinates near 13 U.S. shoreline locations. Significant wave height describes the average of the highest third of waves, not the biggest individual wave or beach break height. Local wind, shoreline orientation, bottom shape and shelter change the surf.
How the watch list works
One peak hour per location in the selected horizon, sorted by wave height, then longer period, then lighter wind. No proprietary “perfect surf” score. Night Shift includes local hours from 20:00 through 05:59, not astronomical sunset/sunrise. Missing values remain missing. No Canadian shoreline forecast coverage is implied.
Updates, gaps & forecast limits
The server checks NOAA every 30 minutes. Each location shows its own NOAA issue time. Grids older than 18 hours or with a failed refresh are marked stale and excluded from the watch list. Missing hours are never filled with invented data. Later days are less certain; the plotted forecast ends where NOAA’s wave coverage ends.
Before you enter the water
Largest is not safest or best. Check current marine and beach warnings, access rules, water temperature, currents and ice. Darkness adds risk. This is a forecast desk, not an instruction to surf at night or during a warning.
NWS GREAT LAKES BEACH HAZARDS ↗