Costa: Playas de Puerto Rico

NEW: Report sargassum Satellites can see sargassum floating offshore. They can't see your shoreline. Whether it lands is up to that day's wind, which is why one beach wakes up clean and the one next door is buried. You can't see that from space. You can only see it standing on the sand. So if you're at the beach, drag the slider from 1 to 10 and tell us what you're looking at. Five seconds, anonymous, no account. Your report becomes that beach's sargassum reading, and a bad one really does pull the Costa Score down. A beach can drop from "Good" to "Poor" because of what you saw. The next beach-goer who looks up that beach sees your report. That either saves them a wasted drive or gives them the green light. • You have to be at the beach to report. Costa checks your location once and never stores it. • The satellite forecast stays on its own line, so you can see how the model compares to what's actually there. • Reports expire after 12 hours. Yesterday's sargassum tells you nothing about today's. • Three reports or more and the median wins, so one outlier never speaks for the whole beach. • Some beaches aren't measured individually by any satellite. There, the forecast is really about the whole coast, and your report is the only thing describing that specific beach. Also new: Share a beach Three ways to share your beach: a tall card for Instagram Stories, a square one for texting, and a sticker you can drop onto your own photos. All three carry the Costa Score, the live readings, and the time.