About SpikeWeather
SpikeWeather turns wind, gusts, rain, temperature and daylight into one honest call: play, or bail. Any beach in the world, free on the web and on the App Store.
One score, five bands
Every hour gets a single rating, and the band is the part you act on.
- PRIME
- GOOD
- TRICKY
- ROUGH
- BLOWN
Wind sets the ceiling
Wind isn’t averaged in with everything else — it caps the rating outright. A warm, clear afternoon still can’t score well in a stiff breeze, because everything else only pulls the number down from there.
Past a point it stops being a matter of degree: strong enough wind rules the hour out on its own.
Frequently asked questions
How does SpikeWeather decide if it's playable?
Every hour gets a 0–10 score. Wind sets the ceiling; temperature, rain and gusts pull it down from there. Darkness, heavy rain or extreme heat and cold rule an hour out outright. The score maps to five bands, Prime down to Blown, and the app names what is hurting most.
What wind speed is too windy for beach volleyball?
Under about 10 mph plays great, 10 to 13 is still good, and 14 to 16 gets tricky as serves and sets start drifting. At 20 mph sustained — 17 for 2v2 — SpikeWeather calls it Blown. Gusts count as much as the average: a calm 8 with 20 mph gusts plays worse than a steady 12.
Which beaches does SpikeWeather cover?
Any beach or coastal city in the world. Search it and you get the same scored forecast. Some spots add local extras — Long Beach, NY has named courts and an evening-league view — but the forecast itself is the same everywhere.
What's the difference between the 4v4 and 2v2 scores?
2v2 is graded harder. Half the players cover the same sand, so wind does more damage: 2v2 treats it as a few mph stronger, calls conditions blown out sooner, and penalizes gusty spread more.
Where does the data come from?
Open-Meteo for wind, gusts, temperature, rain and waves; NOAA stations for tide on US coasts. Scoring runs on the server, so the call is computed fresh rather than guessed.
Is it free?
Yes. The live verdict, the score breakdown and the 3-day forecast are free, with no account. Pro adds the 7- and 14-day forecasts, unlimited saved beaches, and a push when a good window opens at one of your spots.
Is there an iPhone app?
Yes — iPhone and iPad, a native Apple Watch app with complications, and Home and Lock Screen widgets. It reads the same server-side score the web does, so the two never disagree.
Does SpikeWeather use live conditions, or only the forecast?
Both. The hourly model comes from Open-Meteo, but the current hour is cross-checked against nearby airport weather stations and raised to what they actually measure. Radar is read too: when it shows rain the score has not counted, the app says so rather than quietly changing the number. National Weather Service advisories appear on the forecast in the US.
