Start with the current beach flag
The posted Panama City Beach flag is the controlling public-safety signal. Weather and marine values help explain the environment, but they do not override yellow, red or double-red conditions.
What Safe2Swim PCB shows
Wind and gusts
Wind direction and strength can change the feel of the beach quickly and are useful context for understanding surf conditions.
Wave height and period
Wave height describes the modeled sea state, while period helps describe how frequently waves arrive. Safe2Swim labels these as environmental context rather than a swimming recommendation.
Tides
Safe2Swim uses NOAA tide predictions associated with the St. Andrew Bay entrance area and displays the next high or low tide on the live dashboard.
Air temperature
Air temperature and apparent temperature are useful comfort metrics, especially when planning a full beach day rather than only a swim.
Why one number is never enough
A calm-looking morning can develop into a different afternoon, and a small modeled wave height does not make a posted red flag irrelevant. The best public-facing summary is a combination of the official beach flag plus environmental context and frequent re-checks during the day.
Use history for planning, not for today's clearance
Safe2Swim PCB preserves a growing record of historical flag observations and environmental data. That archive is useful for comparing vacation dates and studying patterns, but historical averages should never be used as a substitute for the current posted flag.