Important notes
The Explore tab sits right next to the Home tab (bottom left of the app screen).
There is a collapsible tab at the bottom of the screen that you can swipe up/down to show or hide.
You cannot click through to a spot or buoy directly from the map.
Tap it on the map → it appears in the collapsible tab → tap it there to open its full page.Global Weather Charts are available in the Explore tab with Surfline app version 17.17.0 or later.
What is the Explore tab for?
Browsing surf spots geographically.
Getting familiar with a new region and identifying which spots are working best right now.
Finding and browsing wave buoys on a map.
Finding and browsing live wind stations on a map.
Viewing Weather Charts (wave height, wave period, wave energy, wind speed) to understand regional ocean and wind patterns before diving into local forecasts.
How to use the spot map?
Open the spot map, by tapping the map at the top of the Explore tab. There are 3 buttons on the map highlighted in red below:
- Top: search for a spot or region
- Middle: be taken directly to your current location
- Bottom: to set your home/favorite location. Whenever you launch Surfline, the Explore tab will open to the determined area.
How do I find Buoys or Wind Stations?
Swipe the tab up from the bottom of the screen (if hidden).
Click Surf spots, Wave buoys or Wind stations
Red dots represent buoys that aren't currently reporting data. Grey dots are buoys we are currently receiving live data from. Click on the buoy from the bottom tab to open up a web pop-up with all data from the buoy.
Wind stations are represented by an arrow pointing in the direction wind is currently blowing. All data from the wind station is shown in the tab at the bottom of the screen.
Browsing surf spots
1. Bring the map to your region of interest.
2. Spots visible on the map can be browsed using the dismissable carousel tab below the map.
3. As you swipe left/right through the spots, the spot selected will show the estimated surf height on the map and the dot will become a pill shape. See below.
4. Click the spot from the dismissable carousel tab to access the forecast page - you cannot click through to spots from the map.
Weather Charts
Surfline’s Explore tab now includes Weather Charts so you can start your surf check the same way our forecasters do - by understanding the ocean conditions at a regional level.
What Weather Charts Show:
Wave Height
Wave Period
Wave Energy
Wind Speed
These charts help you:
Visualize wind and swell patterns across large regions
Understand how swell travels and impacts different coastlines
Connect large-scale ocean patterns to best times and places to paddle out
Where to Find Weather Charts:
Open the Explore tab.
Scroll below the Spot map, Wave buoy map, and Live Wind map.
Tap any chart type (Wave Height, Wave Period, Wave Energy, Wind Speed) for a full-screen interactive view.
Zoom in to your location of interest and tap the map at any offshore point get a full breakdown of the swell at that specific location:
Some spots are grouped together? Others aren't
When zoomed out, you will notice spots are replaced by circles with a number in the middle. The number represents the amount of spots within the given area. The colored border surrounding the circle represents the condition ratings of the spots within. Click any circle to be zoomed in to the area.
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