Alert guide
How to configure surf alerts without noise
A good surf alert should save attention, not create more checking. The goal is to notify you only when the ocean crosses conditions that are actually meaningful for your spot.
Use two triggers: height and period
Height catches size. Period catches organization. Together they reduce false positives from short-period wind waves or tiny long-period pulses.
A first alert can be conservative: choose a minimum height that is worth your time and a period that filters out local chop. Then adjust after comparing alerts with real sessions.
Choose a frequency that matches swell behavior
A swell can stay above threshold for many hours or several days. If you notify too often, the alert becomes noise. For most users, every 12 hours, once per day, or once per swell episode is more useful than constant messages.
SwellOracle is designed around those slower cadences because buoy data and surf decisions do not usually need minute-by-minute notifications.
Review and tune after real events
No alert is perfect on the first try. After each swell, check whether the notification matched what happened at the beach. Raise the height if alerts are too frequent; raise the period if the alerts are too messy.
The best setup becomes local: one beach may need 3 ft at 14 seconds, another may need 6 ft at 10 seconds.
Practical takeaway
Start simple, combine height with period, and tune thresholds using real sessions instead of generic numbers.