US Harbors & Divirod Announce Tide Station as a Prize for “Best Harbor” 2021 Winner

Rockland, ME — May 24, 2021

One of the winning harbors of this year’s “Best Harbor in the US” contest—which wraps up at midnight on May 31^st–will get a free tide station to monitor the sea level changes in their local community. US Harbors, the sponsor of the annual contest, is working with Divirod, maker of next-generation water-level sensors, to help coastal communities get access to real-time data about the water-levels in their exact location.

Currently the tide predictions most coastal communities see on their tide charts are calculated by algorithms using historical water-level data gathered from a limited number of observational tides stations operated by NOAA. These algorithms also take into account the distance between the observational station and the local community, as well as aspects of the local hydrography. However, lack of real-time, location-specific observational data, the constantly changing shape of our shorelines, and changes in sea-level rise, make it impossible for local communities to fully understand—and plan for—changes in their local water levels. The ability to operate hyper-local tide stations has the promise of giving municipalities and private waterfront landowners, access to information that has previously been unattainable: a complement to the weather and other data services provided by NOAA.

The winner of this year’s “Best Harbor” in the U.S. will be announced on June 4^th, 2021. Individuals can vote for their harbor through midnight ET on May 31^st at https://usharbors.com/best-harbor-vote. US Harbors will work with Divirod to get the new tide station installed and provide the winning community with access to its own local water-level data. A celebration to honor the 2021 winners is scheduled to take place in mid-June.

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About US Harbors: US Harbors is a weather data and media company in Rockland, Maine that specializes in “tides, weather, & local knowledge™” for people who love the coast. The company has data on 1,400 harbors across 30 coastal states and the Great Lakes. The company’s primary website, https://usharbors.com, has been helping people make good decisions about their time on–and near–the water since 2009. The mission of the company is to promote the sustainability and resilience of coastal communities, both economically and environmentally. US Harbors started the “Best Harbor in the U.S.” contest in 2019, using crowdsourcing to determine the harbor best loved by its community.  The company also sponsors National Harbormaster Appreciation Day (celebrated every year around the country on Oct. 8^th – www.harbormasterday.com).

About Divirod: Using a proprietary–and expansive—next-generation sensor network to digitally measure water, through harnessing the power of the reflected signals from satellites already in the sky, Divirod is building the world’s largest repository of LIVE water data, providing a solution to complement NOAA’s foundational offerings.  https://divirod.com