📡 Data Sources & Sensors

Gold-standard live wind sensor network. Authenticated via Playwright browser automation against the iKitesurf web app.

Stations

Station	ID	Role
Kanaha	166192	Primary spot — current avg/gust, thermal spread baseline
Kahului Airport	643	Thermal spread pair (Kanaha − Airport = thermal indicator)
Maalaea	642710	Venturi ratio (Maalaea / Kanaha)
Kahului Harbor	4349	Secondary wind reference

API Endpoint

getSpotDetailSetByList  (authenticated iKitesurf API)

Feeds

• Current wind average & gust for equipment sizing
• Thermal spread calculation (Kanaha − Airport; >3 kts = thermal active)
• Venturi ratio (Maalaea / Kanaha; >0.8 = venturi active)
• Evening retention for synoptic base estimation

iKitesurf's proprietary hourly wind forecast model. Extracted from the forecast graph via authenticated Playwright scraping. 48-hour horizon.

What it provides

• Hourly wind speed predictions (48h ahead)
• Wind direction per hour
• Graph-derived forecast curve for session window planning

API Endpoint

iKitesurf forecast graph data  (authenticated, Playwright-scraped)

Feeds

• Per-hour wind predictions within session windows
• Taper prediction array (wind decay forecast)
• Equipment recommendation timing per 2h block

NOAA's National Data Buoy Center. Three tiers of buoys serve different purposes: local wave truth, far-field synoptic wind indicators, and North Pacific storm tracking.

Local Buoys

Buoy	ID	Role
Pauwela	51205	Closest to Kanaha — wave truth + SST
Mokapu	51202	Secondary local reference

Far-Field Upwind Buoys (Synoptic Trade Indicators)

Buoy	ID	Role
SE Hawaii	51004	Primary synoptic trade indicator
SW Hawaii	51002	Synoptic cross-reference
N Hawaii	51000	Trades taper here first
NW Hawaii	51001	Groundswell early warning (NOT for wind)

North Pacific Storm Tracking

Buoy	ID	Location
Gulf of Alaska	46001	Primary storm generation zone
Central Bering Sea	46035	Deep North Pacific storms
South Kodiak	46066	Alaska storm runoff

API Endpoints

https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/{id}.txt      (standard obs)
https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/realtime2/{id}.spec     (spectral data)

Feeds

• Synoptic base estimation (median of far-field buoy winds)
• Swell decomposition (windswell vs groundswell via spectral data)
• Groundswell early warning from NW buoy + North Pacific buoys
• Sea surface temperature (Pauwela → thermal model)

CO-OPS tide predictions and observations for mast selection and reef depth calculation.

Station

Station	Kahului Harbor
ID	1615680

API Endpoint

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/datagetter

Feeds

• Reef depth calculation: 0.9m + (tide_ft × 0.3048)
• Mast selection per session window (72cm–100cm based on depth)
• Low-tide safety warnings

National Weather Service gridpoint data for Kanaha. Provides hourly forecast fields, active alerts, and surf discussion products.

Grid Reference

HFO/213,126 (Honolulu Forecast Office)

Endpoints

/gridpoints/HFO/213,126/forecast/hourly   (hourly forecast)
/gridpoints/HFO/213,126/forecast           (7-day narrative)
/gridpoints/HFO/213,126                    (gridpoint raw data)
/alerts/active                             (active warnings)
/products?type=SRF&location=HFO            (surf forecast discussion)

What it provides

• Hourly probability of precipitation (PoP)
• Quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF)
• Sky cover percentage
• Wind speed and direction forecast
• Active weather warnings and advisories
• Surf heights from SRF product

Feeds

• Dual-source PoP averaging (NWS + Open-Meteo)
• Rain tier classification
• Triage mode activation on severe weather
• Wind forecast cross-reference

Open-source weather API providing high-resolution hourly atmospheric data. The per-hour cloud cover forecast from Open-Meteo is the single biggest prediction improvement in the system — cloud cover is the #1 uncertainty for thermal wind.

API Endpoint

https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast

What it provides

• pressure_msl — sea level pressure
• precipitation, precipitation_probability, rain, showers
• cloudcover (total, low, mid, high)
• temperature, dewpoint
• CAPE — convective available potential energy
• visibility, weathercode (WMO codes)

Feeds

• Per-hour cloud forecast → thermal modifier (clouds kill thermal wind)
• Shower detection via WMO weathercode
• Dual-source precipitation probability (averaged with NWS)
• Pressure trends for synoptic pattern analysis

Marine-specific forecast API providing wave data at Kanaha plus North Pacific storm generation zone monitoring at 5 waypoints.

API Endpoint

https://marine-api.open-meteo.com/v1/marine

Kanaha Point Data

• wave_height, wave_period
• swell_wave_height, swell_wave_period, swell_wave_direction

North Pacific Storm Waypoints

Waypoint	Coordinates
Gulf of Alaska	56°N / -148°
Mid-Pacific	40°N / -155°
Western Pacific	47°N / -175°
Central North	50°N / -160°
Far West	45°N / 175°

Feeds

• 7-day swell forecast at Pauwela
• North Pacific storm generation zone monitoring
• Groundswell early warning (height + period → ETA via group velocity)

Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor real-time radar reflectivity. Only invoked when rain_risk >= moderate to avoid unnecessary API calls.

API Endpoints

https://mapservices.weather.noaa.gov/eventdriven/rest/services/
  radar/radar_base_reflectivity/MapServer

  /identify  — dBZ at Kanaha point (ArcGIS REST)
  /export    — Maui-area PNG reflectivity map

What it provides

• Real-time precipitation intensity (dBZ at Kanaha)
• Nearby storm cell detection
• Rain rate via Marshall-Palmer Z-R relationship: R = (Z/200)^(1/1.6)

Feeds

• Rain confirmation during active precipitation
• Storm cell proximity warnings
• Triage mode radar context

7 WeatherFlow stations spanning the Maui isthmus, combined into a weighted average for heat index. Captures the thermal gradient that drives afternoon wind acceleration at Kanaha.

Stations & Weights

Station	ID	Weight
Hansen Rd	645600	1.5
Kahului Airport	643	1.2
Haleakala Hwy	645598	1.0
Veterans Hwy	645604	0.8
Upper Division Rd	645602	0.8
Haleakala Hwy 2	681503	0.7
Maalaea	642710	0.7

Feeds

• Weighted average isthmus heat index
• Thermal drive strength (land-sea temperature differential)
• Regime classification input
• Synoptic base estimation (evening readings)

Two WeatherFlow stations at Upolu Point on the Big Island, approximately 100 miles upwind (NE) of Kanaha. Mostly synoptic signal — no thermal contamination. Provides 1-2 hour lead time for trade wind changes.

Stations

Upolu 1	188392
Upolu 2	681478

Feeds

• Synoptic base confirmation (clean trade wind signal)
• Trade wind trend detection (1-2h lead time)
• Wind prediction model input