# BuoyWhale: NOAA Marine Weather — Wind, Waves, Tide, and Alerts

> NOAA buoy weather data, alerts, and condition reports for marine enthusiasts. (iPhone/iPad app by Swanson Industries, LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buoywhale-noaa-marine-weather/id1030188351 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Swanson Industries, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1030188350)
- Category: Weather, Lifestyle
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 315 App Store ratings · 14 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.3 · 18 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-03-17
- Data updated: 2026-07-25
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buoywhale-noaa-marine-weather/id1030188351/reviews.md

## What is BuoyWhale?

BuoyWhale provides easy access to the latest condition reports from NOAA buoys around the world.  Customizable alerts make sure you always know whats happening at the buoys you care most about.

Interactive Map
● Buoy markers provide instant condition readings by displaying wind speed and direction.
● Zoom in or out to change your geographic conditions perspective.
● Conditions are automatically refreshed ever 5 minutes.
● Units indicator reminds you of wind speed units displayed in the buoy markers.
● The filter buttons let you switch between displaying all buoys and only your favorite buoys and/or hiding buoys with stale data for a more focused view.

Alerts
● Create custom alerts to be notified when wind and/or wave conditions at buoys you care about reach criteria you have set.
● Easily manage alerts from the All Alerts view.
● Pause alerts without deleting them from the All Alerts view.
● Touch an alert to launch BuoyWhale and scroll the map to the buoy specified in the alert.
● Press and hold an alert to open an enhanced alert window with additional alert details. (iOS 12+)

Current Conditions
● See detailed current conditions as reported by each buoy.
● Current conditions age and next update time as predicted by BuoyWhale.
● Get sun and moon rise/set times for the current day.
● Wind speed and gust chart plots conditions from the past 10 readings.
● Wind rose shows wind direction, speed and frequency for the past 10 readings.
● Barometric pressure and tendency charted for the past 10 readings.
● Set wind and/or wave alerts for the current buoy.
● Add or remove the current buoy from your favorites list.

Note: data reported by each buoy can vary.  Data reported may include: wind speed, wind gust speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, air and sea temperature, dew point, wave height and frequency, tide, and visibility. 

All Buoys List
● Scroll through the entire list of NOAA buoys around the world.
● Quickly search and filter the buoy list by buoy name and/or description.
● Sort by: distance, favorites, last update, or station name.
● Filter the list so that only favorite buoys are displayed. 
● Access buoy conditions directly from the All Buoys list.
● Scroll the map to any buoy from the All Buoys list.

Settings
● Customize observation units for temperature, wind speed, barometric pressure, and wave height.
● Automatically center the map on the last location at start up.

Remove Ads
● Go ad free for one year via the optional in-app purchase.

Tell a friend about BuoyWhale
● From the sharing menu, send a link to BuoyWhale in the iTunes store via iMessage, Email, or social media.

Rate BuoyWhale in the iTunes Store
● Tell us what you think about BuoyWhale.  We love to get feedback to help guide the future direction of BuoyWhale.

Follow BuoyWhale on Twitter
● Follow BuoyWhale on Twitter to stay up to date on all of the latest news about BuoyWhale.

## Key features

- Real-time NOAA buoy data
- Customizable condition alerts
- Interactive map with buoy markers
- Detailed current conditions
- Wind speed and gust charts
- Sun and moon rise/set times
- Favorite buoy management

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $2.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 14)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buoywhale-noaa-marine-weather/id1030188351/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Works well for me

*2024-06-26, version 2.9.0*

It’s always been pretty dependable

### 5/5 — Boater Boy 521

*2024-04-17, version 2.8.1*

Awesome at a glance to get ACCURATE data on Lake Michigan!

### 5/5 — Boater Boy 521

*2023-07-29*

Awesome at a glance to get ACCURATE data on Lake Michigan!

### 1/5 — Crashes immediately

*2023-07-23, version 2.8.1*

I loaded this app on my iPhone 6s Plus running iOS 15 but it crashes immediately when launching it.  It’s supposed to operate on iOS 12 or later.

### 5/5 — One of the best apps to date

*2023-01-05, version 2.8.1*

Easy to navigate fast real time data thank you!

### 1/5 — Useless. Just shows position of buoy. No data

*2021-02-03, version 2.7.1*

No datajonah1939

### 1/5 — Alerts

*2020-09-26, version 2.7.1*

Alerts work once in awhile

Most of the time not

### 1/5 — Compass directions fail

*2020-08-20, version 2.7.1*

At present the compass arrow pointer on both map and details page, are 180 degrees out of position. The top of a map is always north!

### 1/5 — Bad interface

*2020-08-17, version 2.7.1*

Brings up terms of service that I have to agree to before access, but won’t respond to my selection. Interface has lines overlapping making it hard to read. Does not work well on my iPhone 11

### 5/5 — Helpful

*2020-07-27, version 2.7.1*

Love it. Keeps me fresh for oncoming wx.

## Frequently asked questions about BuoyWhale

### What kind of data does BuoyWhale provide?

BuoyWhale provides access to condition reports from NOAA buoys worldwide. This data can include wind speed, wind gust speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, air and sea temperature, dew point, wave height and frequency, tide, and visibility. The specific data reported can vary by buoy.

### How can I be notified of specific weather conditions?

The app allows you to create custom alerts for wind and/or wave conditions at buoys you care about. You can set specific criteria, and you will be notified when those conditions are met. Alerts can be easily managed, paused, or deleted.

### Is BuoyWhale free to use?

The app is free to download and use, providing access to NOAA buoy data and core features. There is an optional in-app purchase available to remove ads for one year, offering an ad-free experience.

### What devices is BuoyWhale compatible with?

The description mentions specific features for iOS 12+, suggesting compatibility with Apple devices running that version or later. It is designed for mobile use, likely on smartphones and tablets.

### Who would benefit from using BuoyWhale?

BuoyWhale is ideal for anyone who relies on accurate marine weather information, such as sailors, surfers, fishermen, kayakers, and coastal residents. The ability to set custom alerts and view detailed conditions makes it a valuable tool for planning activities on the water.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.9.0 — 2024-06-19

It's been a minute! But we're back with an updated version of BuoyWhale that fixes several annoying bugs related to onboarding. This version also requires iOS 15.3 or later. We've rebuilt BuoyWhale with the latest Apple developer tools and libraries to ensure the app runs smoothly on all of the latest Apple devices.

### 2.8.1 — 2023-01-04

This release contains performance improvements and bug fixes.

### 2.8.0 — 2022-11-06

This release contains bug fixes and performance enhancements along with other internal updates.

### 2.7.3 — 2022-04-27

It's been a while. But, we are back with a new release!

New in this release:
● Refreshed the visuals on the Buoy Conditions view.
● Added a link to the NDBC web site for the selected buoy on the Buoy Conditions view.
● Lots of under the covers updates to modernize the code and enable new features in coming updates.

Bugs fixed in this release:
● Alert label does not correctly update at the beginning of dragging the alert slider.
● Alert changes silently fail sometimes.

### 2.7.2 — 2021-06-02

This release focuses on stability. Several pesky crashes were fixed.

This version, 2.7.2, will be the last release to support iOS 10 and iOS 11. This version will continue to work for the foreseeable. However, it will not receive any further updates. Beginning with BuoyWhale 3.0, the minimum iOS version required will be 12.0.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-25.*