What triggers an email
These are five fixed choices, 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 incomplete forecast sends nothing. The four condition-triggered choices establish a baseline before they can send; the Monday tide forecast sends only after a complete seven-day NOAA response is available.
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 low-tide beach timing
The tide alert uses NOAA CO-OPS station 8723214, the Virginia Key station used by this guide. It sends when a predicted low tide falls from noon through 5 PM on Saturday or Sunday. The email compares the most useful low-tide time on both weekend days, clearly marks the day that fits your alert, and keeps the exact times and heights in a short NOAA details section. MLLW is NOAA’s local reference for tide height, not the depth of water at the beach. Wind and weather can shift the actual water level, so the email is a planning tip—not a swim-safety alert.
Monday weekly tide forecast
Every Monday after 7 AM Eastern, this option sends the coming Monday-through-Sunday high and low tide predictions from NOAA's Virginia Key station. Each day lists local times and heights in feet relative to MLLW, with Saturday and Sunday highlighted. If any day is incomplete, the email fails closed instead of presenting a partial week as complete.
Sargassum outlook changes
The sargassum alert watches the same NOAA Sargassum Inundation Risk map shown on the sargassum page. It reads the satellite-derived colors around the Key Biscayne coastline and emails when that category moves from one of low, warning, medium, or high to another. The first successful check only records a baseline. The same NOAA report date is not emailed twice, and at most one sargassum email goes out on a given local day.
This is a regional satellite-based outlook, not a report for Crandon, Cape Florida, or the Village beach. Wind, tide, and cleanup can leave one beach clean while another is stacked. The email links the dated map so you can look before you go.
How often we check—and how often we email
The system checks water quality every 30 minutes, sargassum at most once an hour, wind no more than every three hours, and tides daily. Condition alerts stay quiet when nothing matches. The weekly tide forecast has one predictable schedule: Monday morning. 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 or week.
All five choices 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.