Dive conditions in Charleston

Notable species

Charleston is known for:

Typical water visibility

Summer visibility around Charleston is commonly reported in the 5 to 25 ft range, a community guidance estimate, not a measurement. Rain, river discharge, swell mixing, and seasonality can shift real conditions dramatically day to day.

The app shows a model estimate of today's visibility here, with a confidence figure.

What Submarius shows for Charleston

This page reads Charleston at 32.78°N, 79.93°W, in South Carolina Lowcountry. Open the same point in the app for:

• A 0 to 10 rating. For diving at Charleston today, from Rough to Prime, and you can tap any factor to see why.
• Best 3 hour window. The three hours in the next 24 that score best.
• Tide. Rising, falling or slack, the next high or low, and a 24 hour curve.
• Wind. Speed and direction, with gusts.
• Waves and swell. Wave height and swell, with the second and third swell by the hour.
• Water temperature. With the air temperature underneath.
• Current. Drift in knots and the next slack, from a regional model, so it's offshore drift, not your entry.
• Visibility estimate. A model estimate with a confidence figure, not a measurement.
• Weather warnings. National Weather Service warnings for this spot and its marine zone.
• 8 day forecast (Pro). Days 2 to 8, hour by hour.

Reefs and wrecks near Charleston

The reefs and wrecks layer in the app marks charted wrecks, reefs and obstructions around Charleston, where sources have them. Tap one for the seabed depth beside it (an estimate where no chart reports one), the least depth over the structure where a chart sounding exists, and today's conditions at that spot. The structures are merged from NOAA nautical charts and other public sources, so coverage is densest in US waters. It's a Pro map layer.

Safety in the water

Every safety tool in Submarius is free. With Safety Watch you set a "back by" time and pick who watches. If you don't check in by then, the server alerts them by push or email, even if your phone is dead. It needs a free account and never contacts the coast guard.

When Spearfishing is your mode, a shark awareness card also lists the shark species recorded in the area and any community sightings from the last 48 hours.