DiveVis › How it works
How the DiveVis forecast works
DiveVis forecasts underwater visibility and divability for 55 curated dive and snorkel spots on Oahu, Maui, Big Island and Kauai, for today and the next 6 days. Each spot gets two separate reads: how clear the water should be, and how safe and worthwhile it is to get in from shore, by kayak or by boat.
Last updated November 3, 2026. Forecasts refresh every 6 hours.
1. Visibility score (0–100)
The visibility score combines the conditions that cloud the water: wind and swell, weighed by how exposed each spot is to them, recent rain and runoff, currents, and water clarity, which draws on the latest satellite imagery of the coast where clouds allow.
The score maps to a visibility band and an estimated range:
| Band | Score | Visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 85+ | 25–60 ft (7.5–18.5 m) |
| Good | 70+ | 15–25 ft (4.5–7.5 m) |
| Fair | 50+ | 8–15 ft (2.5–4.5 m) |
| Poor | 30+ | 3–8 ft (1–2.5 m) |
| Very Poor | 0+ | 0–3 ft (0–1 m) |
When Hawaii DOH has a Brown Water Advisory open near a spot, visibility is held down, most of all today and less over the next two days, and every way in is No-go, whatever the weather says.
2. Divability: shore, kayak, boat
Each way in is rated hour by hour from wind, gusts, swell against the way the shore faces, current, daylight, and how far out deep water is (from NOAA depth data), as Go, Caution or No-go. The page shows the best method and the hours it holds.
Murky water lowers divability too: when visibility is Poor or Very Poor the day is at best Caution, and when runoff after heavy rain is what clouds the water it is No-go (it can carry bacteria as well as hide the bottom).
3. Confidence
Confidence reflects how complete the data was for that spot and how far ahead the day is: the further out the forecast, the lower it gets.
Data sources
- Open-Meteo: wind, gusts, rain, swell, waves and sea temperature forecasts.
- NOAA CO-OPS: tide predictions from the nearest station.
- USGS Water Services: river and stream discharge.
- NOAA CoastWatch VIIRS: satellite water clarity.
- Hawaii DOH Clean Water Branch: Brown Water Advisories, checked live.
- NOAA NCEI: depth (bathymetry) models for the depth maps and reach distances.
Limits
- Visibility is an estimate, not a measurement. Satellite images arrive days late and can't see the future, so forecasts further out rely more on the weather.
- Spot profiles (which way each shore faces, access, launch harbors) are curated estimates.
- Conditions change faster than any forecast: look at the water, the surf and the current before going in. Not for navigation.