beach | At Home with Tech

July 27, 2025

How to Check the Ocean Temperature on your Phone Before You Hit the Beach

My wife and I decided to take a quick dip at our town beach last week after work. It’s not something we typically do, even though we live just a short drive from the Connecticut shore. We enjoyed our 90-minute vacation so much, we repeated this refreshing early-evening experience over the next two days (and hoped to do it more in the upcoming weeks).

As much as we enjoyed our pre-dinner excursion, we were surprised that the ocean temperature varied from day to day. The water felt warm on day one. The second afternoon’s ocean temperature was colder. And day three’s surf seemed downright icy.

I suspected the differing air temperature and humidity between the days affected our experience, but I didn’t think the ocean could get noticeably colder that quickly.

I decided to fact check my opinion and find a way to confirm the actual water temperature by my beach on those particular days.

NOAA Data Buoys
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains numerous data buoys off the coastline. These NOAA buoys track the weather including ocean conditions.

So, I went to the NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center website and identified the closest ocean data buoy to our beach. I found a nearby buoy in Bridgeport, CT and took a look at its historical data.

And in fact, there was a variance of five degrees in the sea water temperature across those three days. (between 70-75.5° Fahrenheit).

Wind Direction Affects Ocean Temperature
This was a surprise, as I’ve always thought the water by our Connecticut beach remained a steady temperature that simply inched up over the summer. And as such, it was a non-factor on which days were the better beach days.

So, I did a little Googling on this topic and realized that the wind plays a huge role in determining how your beach’s water feels from day to day.

I discovered that wind blowing towards a beach will keep the ocean warmer. That’s because the surface water that’s been warmed by the sun gets pushed towards the beach. The opposite is true for offshore winds which will suck the top ocean layer away and make your beach’s waves colder.

Wow.

So, in fact, if you want to go for a swim at the beach and hope for warmer water, some days are actually better for that than others.

I immediately started to think about my iPhone and how nice it would be to easily check out the ocean temperature on my phone before I jump in next time.

Is there an app for that? Well, of course there is…

Mobile Apps that Display NOAA Data Buoy Info
There are a variety of mobile apps that collect and present the data from the NOAA’s data buoys. You just tap in your buoy’s number, and the water temperature pops up along with the weather conditions. (Some apps automatically use your location to find the nearest buoy.) Either way, it’s easy.

Here are the apps that I tested on my iPhone:

Buoycast: NOAA Marine Weather
Marine Weather Forecast Pro
NOAA Buoy Reports

I’m more partial to the design interface of Buoycast, but they all provide the same data.

All three apps are free, though they offer premium features (such as historical data) for a price. But if you just need to know the real-time water temperature, the free versions are all you need.

Don’t Forget to Check your Data Buoy Before Grabbing your Swimsuit and Towel
I used to think a warm, sunny day is all that determined a good beach day. But if you’re looking to swim, warmer water is always nice. And the right wind conditions can heat it up for you.

With an app on your phone that tracks the nearest NOAA data buoy, you can now quickly check the water temperature before deciding to head out to the beach.

Real-time data means no more chilly surprises!

August 4, 2024

Why Certain Images from Yesteryear Maintain the Strength of the Glory Days

My vacation photography from the North Fork of Long Island reflects the happiness from a different time and pace.

I sometimes pine for the mid-twentieth century when life was supposed to be ‘better.’ Idolized by movies, photography and old advertising campaigns, this period represented a slower, more wholesome and happier era.

I don’t know if this myth from before my time is true. Perhaps it was just a dream. But the idea of it is still alive and well.

The Good Old Days
My father always used to wax poetic about the world of his younger days. He never complained about life with the relatively limited technology of that time. No computers. No internet. No cell phones. (I know these are debatable advantages.)

But fundamentally, I think life was more difficult back then. Lots of folks worked long hours to make ends meet and had any number of life-challenging issues to contend with.

Even the nostalgic world from the Disney+ series “Wandavision,” which displayed manufactured happiness from past decades couldn’t prevent existential cracks from forming after only a couple episodes.

Really, how good were the good old days?

Yesteryear is Gone
Still, collective memories from the past can represent a paradise lost. The grass was somehow greener.

That said, today still contains plenty of the elements we allegedly yearn for. You’ve just got to look about and find them in what is arguably a more complicated, contemporary life.

So, perhaps this is really about less complexity and more simplicity.

Which is why vacations are often designed to slow down and temporarily pull us to places that embody simplicity or visually reflect past images of it.

Time Traveling on Vacation
My family and I have enjoyed vacationing on the sleepy and sandy North Fork of Long Island, and we recently returned to Peconic and Greenport after some years away.

This year, my camera was drawn to imagery that reflects this simplified happiness of a certain past. Small but thriving downtowns. Diners. Farm stands. Fishing by the shore.

The good news is this is not only a reflection. We didn’t really have to time travel to reach it. Pieces are still very much in our everyday reality.

Bathing yourself in this nurturing imagery will not only revitalize the soul and reground you in your present. It will simultaneously reinforce the strength of our collective memory of the glory days.

Here’s a bit of what I spotted through my happy journey down a cultural memory lane, alive and well in today’s present.

September 19, 2021

Can You See What’s Right in Front of You?

This close-up of our cute feline beast is one example of focusing on the few inches in front of your camera.

Life often teaches us to focus on the big picture. But it’s also a good idea to sometimes pay more attention to what’s right in front of you. I explored a photographic exercise to look more closely at my immediate surroundings and uncovered some cool imagery in the smaller spaces. Here’s what I found.

From the Lester Garden
This is the tomato we will eat tonight.

Aging Beach Fence Post
The rings of time are locked in by thick paint to help battle against the elements.

My Garage Door Light’s Motion Sensor
This sentry covered in cobwebs looks onto my driveway. The red LED indicates it has spotted its moving target.

HP Tango Printer’s Cylon Glow
The always-on light moves horizontally and changes color to communicate with me. My printer’s designers are clearly fans of “Battlestar Galactica.”

My Shirt Collar
They say it’s the little things. I am happy when my collar stays straight throughout my work day.

The Key to Control
Why isn’t this the alpha key on every keyboard?

88 Keys
Our piano demonstrates the art of collaboration to our son.

Bird on the Beach
This seagull walked up behind me to beg for food on Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, CT. Its piercing stare had the power of a Jedi mind trick.

Looking More Closely at my Life
Snapping these photos helped me to see more of what’s in plain sight during my day-to-day activities.

I highly recommend you try it!

Tag: beach

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: