Waves
Swell height, swell period, wave direction, wind waves, and secondary swell where available.
Forecast Method
How SurfTrip
builds the forecast.
Global wave, wind, tide, and astronomy data, processed for Philippine surf spots, then translated into something surfers can actually use.
The ingredients
What goes into the call
The raw models give us the numbers. SurfTrip adds Philippine local time, surf-friendly presentation, and local spot context.
Wind
Wind speed, direction, and gusts converted into local surf context.
Tides
Tide predictions generated from a global empirical tide model.
Sun + moon
Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset for planning dawn patrols and late sessions.
Alon AI
A plain-English summary after the forecast data has already been processed.
Update rhythm
Fresh enough for the morning check.
Most surfers just want to know if it is worth paddling out. This is the rhythm behind the SurfTrip forecast page.
Tides
Updated every midnight
Astronomy
Updated every midnight
Wave forecast
Updated once daily
Wind forecast
Updated once daily
Alon AI summary
Generated after the data run
Timezone
Philippine local time
Processing
Raw data is not the final forecast
A global model sees the ocean. A local surfer also cares about exposure, tide behavior, wind protection, swell direction, and how that spot usually behaves in real life.
01
Pull trusted open data
We start with open meteorological, oceanographic, tide, and astronomy data sources.
02
Convert and align
Units, timezones, forecast hours, and local dates are converted into PH-friendly surf windows.
03
Add local flavor
The forecast is presented with spot behavior in mind, not just raw numbers from a grid cell.
Global models are smart. Local breaks are stubborn.
That gap is where SurfTrip tries to be useful.
Alon AI
The summary is AI. The weather is not.
Alon AI reads the processed SurfTrip forecast data and turns it into a simple surf summary. It does not invent the swell, wind, or tide.
How to read it
Think of Alon AI like the friend who checks the numbers before you paddle out and says, “Morning looks cleaner, but the tide might be weird later.”
The numbers still come from the forecast pipeline. The AI layer is there to make the forecast easier to understand at a glance.
Transparency
Data sources & credits
SurfTrip forecasts are processed and reblended. These providers make the raw data possible.
NOAA GFS-Wave
Wave and wind forecast data from NOAA/NCEP WAVEWATCH III (GFS-Wave), accessed via NOMADS. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ECMWF Open Data
Adapted from ECMWF Open Data (IFS) forecast data by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), licensed under CC-BY-4.0, available from ECMWF open forecasts.
Copernicus Marine Service
Wave model data from the E.U. Copernicus Marine Service
Global Ocean Waves Analysis and Forecast product
(GLOBAL_ANALYSISFORECAST_WAV_001_027), dataset
cmems_mod_glo_wav_anfc_0.083deg_PT3H-i.
DOI:
10.48670/moi-00017.
EOT20 Tides
Hart-Davis Michael, Piccioni Gaia, Dettmering Denise, Schwatke Christian, Passaro Marcello, Seitz Florian (2021). EOT20 - A global Empirical Ocean Tide model from multi-mission satellite altimetry. SEANOE. DOI: 10.17882/79489.
Processing notice:
All forecast and tidal data shown on SurfTrip is processed and reblended
by SurfTrip and is not the original source data. Processing includes
regional subsetting, unit conversion, timezone conversion to Philippine
local time, slot alignment, multi-source blending, and tidal harmonic
prediction derived from the EOT20 tidal atlas.
Surf check reminder:
Surf forecasts are guidance, not guarantees. The ocean still does ocean
things. Always check the beach, the tide, the wind, and your own ability
before paddling out.
Terms and source credits last reviewed: 2026-06-04.