Is there seaweed at Playa Palancar right now?

Satellites cannot see the sand, so nobody can say from this data alone. As of November 12, 2026, NOAA rates the risk for the coast around Playa Palancar as medium. That is about sargassum offshore that could come in.

Which months are worst for seaweed around Playa Palancar?

In NOAA's daily record since July 2025, the months with the most medium or high days for this coast were July 2025 (31 of 31 days), August 2025 (31 of 31 days) and January 2026 (31 of 31 days). November 2025 and December 2025 had none.

How often does this page change?

Once a day, by itself, after NOAA posts its map. NOAA's map runs one to two days behind the calendar, so the page always shows the date of the data it is quoting.

Seaweed risk at Playa Palancar

Cozumel · Cozumel's west shore

NOAA rated the seaweed risk for the coast around Playa Palancar as medium on November 12, 2026. That is lower than the week before.

The level describes sargassum offshore that could arrive. It is not a view of the sand, and it is not a forecast.

Low
Warning
Medium (the newest level)
High

NOAA data from Nov 12, 2026 · 2 days old

The last 14 days

October 30 – November 12, 2026

30October 30: high
31October 31: medium
1November 1: high
2November 2: high
3November 3: high
4November 4: high
5November 5: high
6November 6: high
7November 7: high
8November 8: medium
9November 9: medium
10November 10: medium
11November 11: medium
12November 12: medium

One mark for each day of NOAA data. The taller and darker the mark, the higher the risk for the coast around Playa Palancar. A dotted mark is a day NOAA published no map.

Month by month

Days at each level, July 2025 – November 2026. A minus after a month counts days NOAA published no map.

L: Low
W: Warning
M: Medium
H: High

Days at each risk level for the coast around Playa Palancar, by month
Month	L	W	M	H
2025
Jul	0	0	1	30
Aug	0	0	8	23
Sep	5	0	10	15
Oct	29	0	2	0
Nov	30	0	0	0
Dec	31	0	0	0
2026
Jan	0	0	29	2
Feb	5	2	18	3
Mar	0	0	15	16
Apr	1	1	11	17
May	1	0	4	26
Jun −3	0	0	11	16
Jul −1	0	0	0	30
Aug −1	0	0	0	30
Sep −1	0	0	10	19
Oct	1	0	5	25
Nov	0	0	5	7

Which way it faces

Faces west, sheltered, onto the Cozumel channel.

Beaches turned away from the open sea often collect less seaweed than their neighbours when it arrives, though not every time.

Shoreline traced from NOAA’s map. Not for navigation.

The open beach nearby

Chen Río, 16 km east, faces east.

NOAA’s newest level for the coast around it is medium.

Morning report

Get a 7 AM seaweed report for Playa Palancar on each morning of your trip.

$4.99 per trip

Get the morning report

Reports start in spring 2027. You pay now, through Gumroad, and tell us the beach and your dates by email.

Your place is saved. We will write once, when morning reports open. Nothing has been charged.

Questions

Is there seaweed at Playa Palancar right now?: Satellites cannot see the sand, so nobody can say from this data alone. As of November 12, 2026, NOAA rates the risk for the coast around Playa Palancar as medium. That is about sargassum offshore that could come in.
Which months are worst for seaweed around Playa Palancar?: In NOAA's daily record since July 2025, the months with the most medium or high days for this coast were July 2025 (31 of 31 days), August 2025 (31 of 31 days) and January 2026 (31 of 31 days). November 2025 and December 2025 had none.
Does it matter which way Playa Palancar faces?: Playa Palancar faces west, onto the Cozumel channel. Beaches turned away from the open sea often collect less seaweed than their neighbours when it arrives, though not every time.
Where does the level come from?: From NOAA's Sargassum Inundation Risk map, which NOAA publishes daily and labels experimental. NOAA scores the shoreline in long runs. On that day this beach sat in a run of about 23 km with one level for all of it. A beach and its neighbour can share a level and still look different on the ground.
How often does this page change?: Once a day, by itself, after NOAA posts its map. NOAA's map runs one to two days behind the calendar, so the page always shows the date of the data it is quoting.

Sources and limits

Data courtesy of NOAA/AOML, NOAA CoastWatch, and USF.

The level comes from NOAA’s daily Sargassum Inundation Risk product, which NOAA calls experimental, not a forecast. NOAA scores the shoreline in long runs. On that day this beach sat in a run of about 23 km with one level for all of it. Medium is the third of NOAA's four levels: a fair amount of floating sargassum is in the waters off this coast and landings are likely somewhere along it.

NOAA's map from 2 days ago, the newest it has published. Seaweed Radar rewrites this page once a day by itself. NOAA does not endorse this site. How it works