Surf Forecasts:
Cape Mendocino surf forecast from 25 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 25 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 21s period, SW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 26 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 19s period, SSW swell with 1,255 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 25 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 22s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cape Mendocino this week:
The surf forecast for Cape Mendocino over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 25) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 22s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cape Mendocino in the next 16 days are 1.3m 19s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 26) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 6s period and expected on Friday (Jul 31) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Sat 25th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 22s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Sat 25th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 21s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Sun 26th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 19s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cape Mendocino over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let's get real about Cape Mendocino for the next couple of weeks. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it – this stretch is a tough one for anyone on a paddle board.
We start off on Saturday the 25th of July with a little bit of swell, about 4 to 4 ft, coming from the SSW. The period is a huge 21 seconds, so there’s plenty of energy out there (energy reading around 1498), but that kind of long-period groundswell can be pretty weird on a beach break – it tends to jack up and close out. The wind is coming from the NW at 10 mph, so it's cross-onshore and not clean. It’s a light breeze in the morning, then gets choppier by the afternoon. Marginal at best.
Sunday the 26th and Monday the 27th keep that same size, 4 ft to 4 ft, still from the SSW. The period drops a little, but the wind shifts to more of a cross-shore, so the surface is messy with moderate cross-chop. The quality scores are low – it’s just not good.
From Tuesday the 28th of July onward, the swell starts to fade. By that Wednesday and Thursday, it's down around 3 ft to 3 ft, but the wind is really picking up to 20 to 30 mph. That creates lumpy, blown-out conditions. From the end of July into the first week of August, it gets really ugly. Swell heights drop to barely 1 ft to 2 ft, the energy numbers fall into the low hundreds and even just 68 on the morning of August 5th. The period shortens up and the wind stays moderate to fresh cross-shore, so it’s just flat chop.
There’s a tiny bump on the morning of Saturday the 8th of August – 2 ft of swell from the SSW with a long 18-second period, but the wind is cross-onshore again and the energy is still weak at 313. Then it fades out again by Sunday the 9th.
Water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing weird going on.
Honestly, there is not a single standout session in this whole 16-day window. The wind is never offshore, the swell is small, and it’s always choppy. This stretch is way more suited for kite surfing than trying to paddle out into that messy, weak stuff. You’d be better off waiting for the next system.
Forecasts can always change for the better, but right now, it’s a long, flat, bumpy spell. Hang tight.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Sat afternoon, min 13°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Tue afternoon, min 12°C on Wed night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 23 | SSW 21 | SW 21 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 19 | SSW 17 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | NW 7 | NW 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 558 | 1221 | 1051 | 872 | 1100 | 863 | 719 | 845 | 1104 | 837 | 789 | 1081 | 911 | 635 | 539 | 436 | 377 | 302 | 218 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross |
High Tide | 8:03PM1.75m | 11:00AM1.28m | 8:50PM1.78m | 11:38AM1.33m | 9:34PM1.81m | 12:10PM1.37m | 10:16PM1.84m | 12:39PM1.39m | 10:55PM1.85m | 1:05PM1.42m | 11:34PM1.83m | 1:30PM1.46m | 00:13AM1.79m | ||||||
Low Tide | 3:58AM0.01m | 3:21PM1.02m | 4:39AM-0.05m | 4:10PM1.01m | 5:16AM-0.10m | 4:52PM0.98m | 5:49AM-0.13m | 5:29PM0.95m | 6:20AM-0.14m | 6:06PM0.90m | 6:50AM-0.13m | 6:43PM0.85m | |||||||
 | | |  | | | | | | | | | |  |  |  | | | | |
 | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — |
 | 8:39 | — | 8:38 | — | — | 8:37 | — | — | 8:37 | — | — | 8:36 | — | — | 8:35 | — | — | 8:34 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
Feels °C | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 9 | SSW 21 | SW 21 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 19 | SSW 17 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | S 15 |
| kJ | 183 | 1221 | 1051 | 872 | 1100 | 863 | 719 | 845 | 1104 | 837 | 789 | 1081 | 911 | 635 | 539 | 436 | 377 | 302 | 218 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 23 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 8 | NW 8 | SSW 12 | NW 10 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 9 | SSW 11 | S 18 | S 18 | S 17 | S 16 | S 16 | SW 15 |
| kJ | 558 | 152 | 148 | 112 | 84 | 56 | 163 | 119 | 122 | 162 | 78 | 91 | 48 | 98 | 227 | 287 | 183 | 181 | 171 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | S 13 | S 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | NW 11 | SSW 21 | SSW 13 | SSW 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 21 | SSW 12 | S 20 | SW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 18 |
| kJ | 151 | 125 | 196 | 57 | 101 | 30 | 180 | 98 | 40 | 99 | 144 | 55 | 119 | 31 | 22 | 11 | 21 | 41 | 62 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | NW 7 | — | N 3 | NNW 3 | — | N 3 | N 3 | NW 8 | NW 6 | NW 6 | NW 7 | NW 7 | NW 7 | NW 7 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 89 | — | 5 | 9 | — | 5 | 8 | 139 | 177 | 263 | 305 | 375 | 296 | 204 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 75 | 436 | 0 | 151 | 211 | 40 | 151 | 151 | 40 | 211 | 436 | 40 | 316 | 437 | 54 | 151 | 54 | 45 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Humboldt County | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Cape Mendocino surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Cape Mendocino Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cape Mendocino provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cape Mendocino can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cape Mendocino surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Cape Mendocino) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Cape Mendocino may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Cape Mendocino is 47 km (29 miles) from Eureka. If you plan a vacation in Humboldt County, look for hotels and other accommodation in Eureka. Eureka has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest