Cape Mendocino 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 40.42° N 124.40° W

Issued: 4 am 20 Sep 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Cape Mendocino sea temperature is

13.1°C

Cape Mendocino surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Cape Mendocino today (20 Sep):

Morning surf: Morning surf (20 Sep, local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 18s period with SW swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (20 Sep, local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 18s period with SW swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (20 Sep, local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 18s period with SW swell.

The current surf forecast for Cape Mendocino at 10AM is: 0.8m 18s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.4m 13s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction, 1.3m 6s secondary swell from a North-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00am September 20). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.

Time (PDT) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (20 Sep)	2.5ft (0.8m)	18s
Afternoon (20 Sep)	2.5ft (0.8m)	18s
Evening (20 Sep)	3ft (0.9m)	18s

Table - waves today at Cape Mendocino. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Mostly dry. Very mild (max 15°C on Sun afternoon, min 12°C on Sun morning). Mainly fresh winds.
	Sunday 20								Monday 21								Tuesday 22
	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM
Rating (10 max)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 18	SW 18	SW 18	SW 18	SW 18	SW 19	SW 19	SW 18	SW 18	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	NW 14	NW 13	WNW 13	WNW 12	WNW 12	WNW 12	NW 12	NW 12
Wave Graph
kJ	375	375	379	383	383	502	577	522	510	505	499	493	482	482	482	482	595	711	904	849	795	864	1713	1229
Wind (km/h)	N	N	N	NNW	NNW	N	N	N	N	N	N	NNW	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross-off	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross
High Tide				9:05AM1.32m			6:55PM1.55m					9:37AM1.37m			7:56PM1.59m					10:03AM1.43m				8:50PM1.64m
Low Tide	1:44AM0.22m				2:00PM1.02m					2:38AM0.18m				2:51PM0.93m				3:21AM0.14m				3:34PM0.82m


	—	7:01	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:03	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:03	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	7:17	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:15	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	12	12	12	14	15	15	13	12	12	12	13	15	15	15	13	13	13	12	13	15	15	15	13	13
Feels °C	8	8	8	10	11	11	9	8	9	9	9	11	10	11	10	11	9	7	8	10	10	10	8	9
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 18	SW 18	SW 18	SW 18	SW 18	SW 19	SW 19	SW 18	SW 18	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	NW 15	NW 14	NW 13	WNW 13	WNW 12	WNW 12	WNW 12	SW 16	NW 12
kJ	375	375	379	383	383	502	577	522	510	505	499	493	482	482	482	418	595	711	904	849	795	864	367	1229
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSW 13	SSW 13	SSW 13	S 13	SSW 13	S 13	S 12	SSW 12	SSW 12	SSW 12	NW 9	WNW 9	WNW 9	WNW 8	NW 16	SW 17	SW 17	SW 17	SW 16	SW 16	SW 16	SW 16	S 12	SW 16
kJ	58	35	34	54	31	50	27	50	50	29	21	32	52	45	295	482	560	553	454	381	367	367	11	371
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 10	WSW 13	WNW 10	WNW 10	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	WNW 10	WNW 10	S 12	S 12	S 13	NW 16	WNW 8	WNW 8	WNW 8	WNW 8	S 12	S 12	S 12	S 12	—	S 12
kJ	8	16	10	10	6	6	6	6	10	9	27	27	28	132	58	78	56	54	11	25	11	11	—	11
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	NNW 8	NNW 5	NNW 6	NNW 6	NNW 6	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NNW 7	NW 12	N 8
kJ	172	61	90	145	187	205	216	192	204	222	248	222	198	198	166	145	244	312	336	348	338	295	1713	186
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Third Reef CAL - Humboldt	Third Reef CAL - Humboldt	Gale Point CAL - Humboldt	Garths Reef CAL - Del Norte County	Doran Beach CAL - Sonoma	De Haven Creek CAL - Mendocino County	Gale Point CAL - Humboldt	Third Reef CAL - Humboldt	South Jetty Table Bluff CAL - Humboldt	Harbor Entrance at Eureka CAL - Humboldt	Gale Point CAL - Humboldt	Fort Canby A Jetty Washington	Drakes Bay CAL - Marin County	Seaside Creek CAL - Mendocino County	South Jetty Table Bluff CAL - Humboldt	South Jetty Table Bluff CAL - Humboldt	South Jetty Table Bluff CAL - Humboldt	South Jetty Table Bluff CAL - Humboldt	South Jetty Table Bluff CAL - Humboldt	Gale Point CAL - Humboldt	Drakes Bay CAL - Marin County	Steamer Lane-Middle Peak CAL - Santa Cruz	Gold Bluffs Beach CAL - Humboldt	Gale Point CAL - Humboldt
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2	1	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	2	4	4
Distance (km)	51	51	54	151	262	100	54	51	40	41	54	651	294	109	40	40	40	40	40	54	294	437	114	54
Best forecast wave conditions in Humboldt County	Gale Point	Moonstone Beach	Moonstone Beach				Gale Point	Gale Point	Gale Point	Gale Point	Gale Point				Bunkers	Gold Bluffs Beach	Gale Point	Gale Point	Gale Point	Gale Point			Gold Bluffs Beach	Gale Point
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2				3	3	3	3	3				4	4	4	4	4	4			4	4
Best forecast wave conditions in United States	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo	Magics HAW - Big Island	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo	Fullers CAL - Monterey	Majors Bay HAW - Kaua'i	Majors Bay HAW - Kaua'i	Fullers CAL - Monterey	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo	Majors Bay HAW - Kaua'i	Majors Bay HAW - Kaua'i	Pakalas HAW - Kaua'i	Smugglers Cove Oregon North	Turtles Washington	Lincoln City Nelscott Reef Oregon North	Lincoln City Nelscott Reef Oregon North	La Push Washington	Turtles Washington	Pakalas HAW - Kaua'i	Super Tubes CAL - Ventura	Wilson Creek CAL - Del Norte County	Mouse Rock CAL - San Luis Obispo
Rating (10 max)	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	4
Header Global	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Shipwrecks Bay-Peaks New Zealand	Shipwrecks Bay-Peaks New Zealand	Shipwreck Bay-Supertubes New Zealand	Cyclops Australia	Cyclops Australia	Ethel Wreck Australia	Shipwrecks Bay-Peaks New Zealand	Cow Bombie Australia	Ouano Lefts New Caledonia	Easter Reef Australia	Easter Reef Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Quarantine Australia	Restaurants Fiji	Trial Harbour Australia	Trial Harbour Australia	Trial Harbour Australia	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Nugget Point New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand
Rating (10 max)	9	9	7	8	8	5	5	5	5	5	6	8	9	5	6	5	9	9	8	9	9	8	6	7

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

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Cape Mendocino 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Cape Mendocino today (20 Sep):

Short Range Forecast

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