Preferences and provenance
Settings & sources
Choose how Frothcast displays forecasts and inspect where every live value comes from.
Display
Forecast units
Your choice is saved on this device and follows you between beaches.
Display
Default beach
The beach Frothcast opens on. Saved on this device.
What each value means
≈Model forecast
Wind, air temperature, waves, swell, and sea temperature are model outputs at a forecast point, not measurements at the beach. Model sea is not breaking-wave height; ≈ breaking faces are estimated from swell height and period (Komar–Gaughan), and ~ marks calculated wave power.
⋔Model consensus
Three independent wave models — MFWAM, ECMWF WAM and GFS Wave — are overlaid at every forecast time. The decision matrix shows their combined range and whether they agree; a split lowers the outlook's confidence.
↕Tide prediction
Heights and events come from an enabled, licensed prediction source and always show the returned datum.
Feed status
| Source | Current status | Notes |
|---|
| Open-Meteo weather and waves | Forecast available · 8/8 feeds fresh | Model wind, air temperature, waves and swell at each forecast point. Documentation |
|---|
| Wave model consensus · MFWAM + ECMWF WAM + GFS Wave | Forecast available · 12/12 feeds fresh | Three independent wave models overlaid at every forecast time. The forecast shows their combined range and whether they agree; ECMWF WAM contributes total sea only. Documentation |
|---|
| Open Waters tides | Forecast available · 4/4 feeds fresh | Free harmonic predictions from the nearest reviewed station, with source datum and attribution. Documentation |
|---|
| Open-Meteo sea temperature | Forecast available · 4/4 feeds fresh | Model sea surface temperature; conditions in shallow water can differ. Documentation |
|---|
| Map background | Connected | Forecast comparisons remain available in the list when the map background is unavailable. |
|---|
Freshness policy
- Weather and marine
- Refreshed hourly. Fresh for 90 minutes after a successful retrieval; hidden after six hours or the end of forecast coverage.
- Wave model consensus
- Each member model refreshed every three hours. Fresh for three and a half hours; hidden after twelve hours or the end of coverage. Stale members drop out of the overlay rather than pretending to agree.
- Model sea temperature
- Fresh for eight hours; hidden after 24 hours or the end of coverage.
- Tide predictions
- Fresh for 36 hours; hard expiry follows the licensed seven-day prediction interval.
Geographic coverage
The catalogue covers four forecast beaches on the Cape Peninsula: Muizenberg, Long Beach, Noordhoek, and Witsand. The old Witsand entry also named Misty Cliffs; this release does not claim that one prediction precisely covers both breaks.