New Smyrna Beach Alert Guide

Florida, USA · part of the New Smyrna Beach spot guide

The Ponce de Leon Inlet buoy (41069) sits about 26 km north and reports wind as well as waves, so a live-observation alert with an offshore-wind gate is a sound trigger. The height below is the buoy’s open-water reading, not the breaking face — near the inlet the face can run larger.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Read the Ponce de Leon Inlet buoy (41069) direction first — a northeast-to-east-northeast component at 7-to-11 seconds is the green light.
2. 2.Time sessions to the incoming-to-high tide, especially on smaller swell, when the inlet current re-forms the bars.
3. 3.Score the offshore or side-offshore west-southwest wind behind a cold front, or a dawn glass-off.
4. 4.Weight the post-front and post-hurricane windows — September to November, and cold-front days November to March.
5. 5.Scout the shifting bars: the best one is inlet-adjacent one week and down-beach the next.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: W–WNW offshore (behind a front) — from 245° to 315° (WSW–NW).

Strongly tide-driven; incoming to mid-high tide is generally best, and low tide can get shallow and sectiony as the inlet re-grooms the bars.

Dial it in