The Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) recently introduced a couple of very useful applications to their NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) that will greatly enhance trip planning for surfers, ocean users, and beach goers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Who is NANOOS? The Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) is the Regional Association of the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) in the Pacific Northwest, primarily Washington and Oregon. Surfrider Foundation is a member of NANOOS and serves on the Governing Council as well as the Board.
New Beach View App- Beach season is here, and with it comes the newest NVS app, "Beach View". This app will give you water quality data from Surfrider Blue Water Task Force Monitoring, tide tables, and wave and wind information to help you plan your next beach expedition. It also features the best collection of webcams from across the Northwest to give you a peek at conditions in near-real time.
Photo: Matt Marino
New Surfers App- Here you will find webcams, current observations from buoys and coastal weather stations, forecasts for eight different measures of wave conditions including height, period, tide, currents, and winds. You can also find Surfrider's water quality data, and other useful information.
While we're well aware that there are a number of existing surf forecast sites out there, whether they're based in SoCal or the UK, they all pull data from the same NOAA forecasts to run their models. Each of these sites have their strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day we're really excited about the apps that NANOOS recently developed as they're PNW based world renowned experts in the fields of oceanography and ocean observation systems. Additionally, NANOOS is always seeking feedback from users in efforts to improve their products.
Both of the apps have a helpful tutorial popup when you open them that helps to understand how to best use them. Surfrider staff in Washington and Oregon worked with NANOOS staff on the development of these apps, we really appreciate the hard work by NANOOS in pulling these together and helping to inform the ocean and coastal recreational use community!