What triggers an email
These are three fixed conditions, not an open-ended alert builder. Keeping each definition fixed makes the promise understandable and lets us test the exact same rule every time the sources refresh. A source failure, empty response, or stale forecast sends nothing. The first successful check establishes a baseline and also sends nothing, so launch day cannot turn an existing condition into a false “new” alert.
Water-quality advisory changes
The water alert watches the beach-level advisory flag published by the Florida Department of Health beach-water-quality program. It sends when an advisory changes from off to on or from on to off at a named Key Biscayne-area beach. A single elevated bacteria sample is not treated as a formal advisory, and a missing beach row is never interpreted as an advisory being lifted.
Favorable kite-wind windows
The kite alert uses the NOAA/National Weather Service hourly forecast. It resolves Key Biscayne’s current NOAA grid cell before each check, then looks for at least two consecutive daylight periods from NE, ENE, E, ESE, or SE whose conservative forecast speed is at least 15 knots. When NOAA publishes a range, the rule uses the lower number, not the optimistic upper number. One message can describe multiple matching windows on the same local date, but a subscriber receives at most one kite alert for that date.
This is a favorable wind forecast, not a declaration that kiting is safe. Squalls, lightning, gusts, current, beach restrictions, launch space, equipment, and rider ability are outside this fixed rule. Read the source forecast and make the on-site decision yourself.
Weekend afternoon low tides
The tide alert uses NOAA CO-OPS station 8723214, the Virginia Key station used by this guide. It matches a predicted low tide from noon through 5 PM on Saturday or Sunday and groups every matching time under the upcoming weekend. The message includes local time and predicted height in feet relative to MLLW. Weather can move observed water levels away from the astronomical prediction.
How often we check—and how often we email
The system checks water quality every 30 minutes, wind no more than every three hours, and tides daily. That schedule is not an email schedule. If your saved condition does not match, you receive nothing. Delivery records use a unique subscriber-and-occurrence key, so a repeated scheduled check or Cloudflare Queue retry cannot intentionally create another email for the same event.
All three conditions are free during the beta. The public guide, source data, and public-health alert remain free. We may later test whether residents value multiple lifestyle rules or typed customization enough to support the operating cost, but there is no paid tier, checkout, or hidden lock in this release.
Passwordless management without a standing account
Signup uses double opt-in: the condition stays off until you explicitly confirm the address. To make changes later, request a one-time management link above. Opening the link does not authenticate you by itself because email security scanners often follow links. You must press Continue, which consumes the link and creates a 30-minute management session in a secure cookie. There is no password, profile, or email address in the management URL.
Every condition email also includes a separate one-click stop link. Unsubscribing disables every rule immediately, revokes active management sessions, and wins over any older job waiting in the delivery queue. For more detail about retained data and deletion, read the conditions-alert privacy notice.