Should I boat at Islamorada, FL today?

Live GO / CAUTION / NO-GO boating conditions for Islamorada, FL on Florida Keys, from NOAA wind, waves, gusts, an hour-by-hour risk timeline, marine warnings and live webcams.

Conditions right now

CAUTION as of Oct 23, 11:22 AM ET: wind NE 16 kt, gusts 19 kt; waves about 4 ft. Boatable with care: expect chop or building wind. Small boats should think twice.

From the NWS gridded forecast for this launch. The live page adds buoy observations, marine warnings and an hour-by-hour timeline.

About Islamorada, FL

  • Water: Florida Keys
  • Location: 24.920, -80.630
  • NWS marine forecast zone: GMZ042
  • Live observations: NDBC WRBF1

How the wind direction plays here

  • Onshore (waves pile up at the launch, often rougher than the open-water number): E, ESE, SE, SSE, S
  • Offshore (deceptively calm at the ramp, rougher farther out, and it pushes you away from shore): N, W, WNW, NW, NNW
  • Cross-shore (moderate; watch which way it trends): NNE, NE, ENE, SSW, SW, WSW

Why direction matters: wind direction and fetch.

Nearby launches on Florida Keys

  • Key Largo, FL (17 mi): CAUTION, wind NE 16 kt, gusts 19 kt; waves about 4 ft
  • Marathon, FL (32 mi): CAUTION, wind NE 16 kt, gusts 19 kt; waves about 4 ft
  • Key West, FL (78 mi): CAUTION, wind NE 18 kt, gusts 21 kt; waves about 4 ft

All launches · Boating the coast guide · How to read a marine forecast · What GO / CAUTION / NO-GO means