When renting a pontoon rental boat with 30a Pontoon Rental it's important to understand the weather.  The National Weather service has multiple techniques to determine weather patterns. The employees of the NWS gather data from satellites, Doppler radar, buoys, computer models, and high-speed communication systems. Even with the most sophisticated weather equipment there is no way to accurately predict weather, in particular, along oceans, and major bodies of water like the Gulf of Mexico.

When Most people search for WEATHER in DESTIN or Weather in SANTA ROSA BEACH two different forecasts show up. One is the 7 Day weather forecast. The other is a doppler type radar. When a person searches "7 Day Weather Forecast" you get a graphic like the one below. In this graphic the weather channel puts a variety of images to represent the potential weather of that day. For example a sunshine, cloud, drops of rain, or a lightning bolt. The problem is, a storm in the Destin / Santa Rosa Beach / Panama City Beach area may only be 20 minutes. So putting a lightning bolt over TUESDAY is accurate because it may happen at some point throughout the day, but doesn't remotely represent the weather for the day. In most cases, 75% of our day is sunny and clear even when a storm is on the forecast.

PLEASE NOTE: THE 7 DAY WEATHER OUTLOOK WITH GRAPHICS IS NOT AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF OUR WEATHER. WE OFTEN GET SMALL STORMS WHICH ONLY LAST 30-60 MINUTES. Please do not let a 7 day forecast determine your vacation plans.

Let me explain this way. In Indiana when you see 75% chance of rain like above above it's likely to rain most of the day or even 75% of the day. However, when you see 75% of chance of rain in Destin or Santa Rosa Beach, there may be a 75% chance that there is storm throughout the day. However, that storm may only last 15 minutes and be gone.

DAILY SMALL STORMS- Coastal areas are notorious for daily small storms. We may have a very heavy storm at 1:15 in the afternoon, but it may be totally over by 1:45.

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This is one reason we don't cancel pontoon boat rentals.   The storms are so quick to come and go, you can typically move the pontoon rental boat away and avoid the storms. 

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REGIONAL- Again, when you type in "Santa Rosa Beach Weather" or "Destin Weather" you will see either a weather forecast or a 7 day outlook like above. However, that map or that forecast represents a REGIONAL area. A regional area may be 45 miles from location you are searching. For example; if you type in "Santa Rosa Beach Weather" that forecast may include DESTIN to the west, Panama City to the East, Freeport to the North, etc. So, if the weather says 75% chance of precipitation, it's possible all of that precipitation lands north of us in FREEPORT and Santa Rosa Beach has 100% sunshine. Actually, on the coast, the wind often blows the storms inland or out to sea, and the first few miles of the coast get nothing. So, the lightning bolt, cloud, or rain you see on the forecast may not even impact you if you are within a couple miles from the gulf of Mexico. if you've ever flown over the coastline on the Gulf of Mexico you can see this clearly. The gulf of Mexico may be clear and the first few miles may be clear, but you'll notice 5 miles inland it may be raining.