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Parameter glossary
A quick reference for every weather, morphology, score and season term used across the ranking.
Live weather inputs
- Wind speed
- The hourly average wind speed at 10 m above sea level, in km/h.Higher speeds build chop and lower the calmness score.
- Wind gusts
- The maximum wind speed recorded during the hour, in km/h.A large gap between average speed and gusts creates restless, unpredictable water.
- Wind direction
- The direction the wind is coming from, in degrees (0° = North, 90° = East, etc.).Compared against the beach's facing to compute the onshore factor.
- Wave height
- Significant wave height in metres, when available from the marine forecast.If missing, it is estimated from wind speed. Steep beaches amplify its effect.
- Swell
- Long-period waves that have travelled from distant weather systems, as opposed to local wind chop.As swell enters shallow water it slows, grows and breaks, adding to the wave height felt at the shore.
- Swell direction
- The bearing the waves arrive from, compared against the beach's facing: head-on, angled, or blocked by coast.The same swell height can be a shorebreak on an exposed beach and invisible inside a sheltered cove.
- Wave period
- The average time between wave crests, in seconds.Under 5 s is short chop, 5–8 s is mixed, over 8 s is long swell — which is why a small wave height can still feel restless.
- Air temperature
- Air temperature at 2 m above ground, in °C.Shown for context; it does not affect the calmness score.
- Sea temperature
- Sea surface temperature in °C, sourced from the marine forecast.Shown for swimmers' context; it does not affect the calmness score.
Beach morphology parameters
- Facing
- The compass bearing the beach shoreline looks out towards, in degrees.Determines whether the wind is onshore, offshore or cross-shore.
- Shelter
- A 0–1 score for how protected the beach is by headlands, islands or enclosed coves.0 = fully exposed; 1 = very sheltered. Reduces both wind fetch and swell energy.
- Steepness
- A 0–1 score for how steeply the seabed rises to the shore.Higher steepness amplifies shorebreak and swell impact.
- Substrate
- The dominant surface material of the beach — sand, pebbles, rocks or a mix.Used for description only; it does not enter the score calculation.
Score and output terms
- Onshore factor
- A 0–1 value measuring how directly the wind blows into the beach face.1 = wind straight from the sea the beach faces; 0 = fully offshore.
- Effective wind
- Wind speed adjusted for direction and shelter.The number the beach actually 'feels' at the shoreline.
- Calmness score
- A 0–100 number where 100 = perfectly calm water.Computed from effective wind, gust kick and swell contribution.
- Verdict
- The seven-step label on each beach card: Glassy, Smooth, Calm, Settled, Light chop, Choppy or Blown out.
- Band
- The coarse 3-bucket view used on the map and in filters: Calm, Mixed or Rough.Calm = score 65+, Mixed = 45–64, Rough = below 45.
Season and business terms
- Low season
- Any day outside the high-season windows.Crowd filtering is not active and business-level colouring is neutral.
- High season
- 15–31 July and 24–31 August.Crowd filtering becomes available; business-level rules are more sensitive.
- Ultra High season
- 1–23 August.The busiest period; the strictest business-level rules apply.
- Peak hour
- The part of the day when beaches are most likely to be busy.Defined as sunrise + 5 hours to sunset − 3 hours for the selected day.
- Business level
- An expected busyness hint, indicated by the crowd icon color, during peak hours in high season.Green = calm, orange = could be busy, red = could be very busy. This metric is relative: only the three southern coves of Kapsali, Chalkos and Melidoni are truly packed during high season.
Filters and UI labels
- Avoid crowds
- A filter that hides beaches expected to be busy based on crowd level, band and season.Medium hides red-level beaches; High hides red and orange-level beaches.
- Main beaches only
- A three-level filter that progressively removes beaches with limitations. Off shows every beach, Medium hides beaches marked difficult to access or small, High hides every beach with any limitation.Medium is the default.
- Difficult to access
- Requires a steep walk, scramble, or careful navigation to reach the water.
- Small
- A very compact cove or beach with limited space.
- Dirt road
- The last part of the approach is an unpaved road of significant length that may include rough sections.