Beach, Let's Go!

Beach Today — Panama City Beach

Safety information comes first. Conditions can change between updates; posted flags, lifeguards, and local officials always control.

1. Official beach flag

Posted flags are the official status

Check the flag at your access point before entering the Gulf

This page will not guess or reuse an old flag. Absence of a flag does not mean safe water.

Open official PCB flag guidance

Text PCBFLAGS to 888777 for City of Panama City Beach flag-change alerts.

Flag meanings and actions
  • Double red: water closed to the public — do not enter.
  • Red: high hazard — stay out unless local officials explicitly advise otherwise.
  • Yellow: medium hazard — use extra caution; weak swimmers should stay out.
  • Green: low hazard — exercise caution; rip currents can still occur.
  • Purple: dangerous marine life — ask a lifeguard what is present.

2. NWS rip-current risk

Forecast stale

Unknown rip-current risk

The live NWS feed could not be read just now. Do not assume the water is safe — check the official NWS beach forecast and posted flags before entering.

Issued Sep 17, 2:52 AM CDT · updated about 18 hours ago · Fetched Sep 17, 9:05 PM CDT

Check the official NWS beach forecast

3. Heat and UV risk

Heat index

85°F

Air 82°F · Humidity 63%

Maximum UV

9 — very high to extreme; seek shade and use strong sun protection.

Fetched Sep 17, 9:05 PM CDT

4. Surf, wind, water, and rain

Wind

ENE 10 mph

NWS forecast for Panama City Beach

Rain chance

0%

Tonight

Regional offshore buoy context

NDBC buoy 42039 is a deep-water regional proxy located 115 nautical miles south-southeast of Pensacola, not a near-shore PCB measurement. Its 5.2-foot reading is supplementary context only and is not converted into a shoreline condition label.

View the official NDBC station page

5. Tides and June grass estimate

Today's tides

HighSep 16, 7:11 PM CDT1.8 ft
LowSep 17, 6:48 AM CDT0.3 ft

June grass estimate

Low likelihood

This is an estimated seasonal likelihood from water temperature and wind, not an official measurement or a direct observation.

Submit a moderated visitor observation

The form below prepares an email for human review; nothing is published automatically.

An optional photo can be attached after your email app opens. Reports are reviewed before any use, never shown as official measurements, and observations older than 24 hours are excluded from a current summary.

Sources and freshness

  • Location: Panama City Beach, Florida; NOAA water station 8729210 at Russell-Fields Pier.
  • NWS weather observation: Sep 17, 9:00 PM CDT · updated 6 minutes ago · fetched Sep 17, 9:05 PM CDT.
  • NWS surf-zone forecast: stale — use the official link above.
  • Water observation: stale — not displayed as current.
  • Stale thresholds: weather/water 3 hours, surf forecast 18 hours, UV 24 hours, offshore buoy 6 hours.