Ditch Plains Alert Guide

New York, USA · part of the Ditch Plains spot guide

Ditch is treated as forecast-only here — the nearest buoy (Block Island, ~67 km) is too far to represent the reef face — so the alert runs on the model, and the height below is an open-ocean reading, deliberately larger than the face.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Track Atlantic tropical systems (August to October) for south-to-southeast swell, and Nor’easters (October to March) for east-to-southeast energy with offshore behind the front.
2. 2.Want period of at least 8 seconds for clean groundswell over the reef.
3. 3.Read the open-ocean height as 2-to-6-foot for the fun-to-solid band, remembering the fat reef and short periods keep the face well under that number.
4. 4.Want a wind with a north component for offshore; a south-to-southwest onshore ruins it.
5. 5.Aim the session at a mid-to-high, pushing tide; low exposes the cobble.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: N–NW offshore for the S-facing reef — from 300° to 40° (WNW–NE).

Tide-sensitive — mid-to-high, pushing tide is best; low exposes the cobble. No tide series is modelled.

Dial it in