NYC & Long Island Beach Forecasts
Live conditions for the metro's ocean beaches — water temperature, waves, tides, wind, and rip-current risk in one read.
Long Island south shore — Jacob Riis to Robert Moses State Park
Weather Story covers five Long Island south-shore beaches between the Rockaway Peninsula and the western tip of Fire Island. Each page composes the same data the device beach mode renders: NDBC buoy observations for waves and water temperature, NOAA CO-OPS tide predictions, NWS surf-zone rip-current forecasts, and Open-Meteo Marine swell + wave-height forecasts for the next six hours.
The swim and surf verdicts (yes / marginal / no) are computed from cold-water gates, wind speed and direction, wave height and period, and the NWS rip-current word. They're a quick gate for “should I go to the beach today” — not a substitute for lifeguard guidance or local signage.
Beaches
Long Beach NY Beach
2.3-mile boardwalk city, only LIRR-walkable ocean beach in the metro, $15 day pass.
Rockaway Beach Beach
5.5-mile Rockaway Peninsula — only legal surf beach in NYC. A train + NYC Ferry access.
Jacob Riis Beach
Most natural-feeling NYC beach — broad sand + dunes inside Gateway National Recreation Area.
Jones Beach Beach
Robert Moses's 1929 signature park — 6.5 miles of Atlantic, WPA water tower, Bandshell concerts.
Robert Moses Beach
Westernmost car-accessible Fire Island field — dunes, 1858 lighthouse, least-developed LI state beach.
About the data
Wave height and water temperature for these beaches come from two NDBC buoys: 44065 at NY Harbor Entrance (primary for Jacob Riis, Long Beach NY, Rockaway, Jones Beach) and 44025 offshore Long Island (primary for Robert Moses, fallback for the others). Tide predictions come from the NOAA CO-OPS Jones Inlet station 8516385 — the canonical south-shore tide for the entire stretch. Rip-current risk is read from the daily NWS surf-zone forecast issued by the OKX (Upton, NY) forecast office.
For air-side forecasts, see the city pages for Queens, NY, Brooklyn, NY, Long Beach, NY, and Babylon, NY.