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Cardiff Reef Surf Forecast
/ CAL – San Diego County (71 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Cardiff Reef surfForecast / CAL – San Diego County / USA
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 10 am Monday 18 May 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Cardiff Reef surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Cardiff Reef sea temperature is
19.2° C
(Which is 2.8°C warmer than normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at Cardiff Reef today?
The current surf forecast for Cardiff Reef at 1PM is: 1.3m 12s primary swell from a West direction (forecast issued at 10:00am May 18). An open ocean swell of 0.5m 15s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (18 May) | 5ft (1.5m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (18 May) | 4ft (1.2m) | 12s |
| Evening (18 May) | 3.5ft (1.0m) | 12s |
Table - waves today at Cardiff Reef. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Tue morning, min 16°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wednesday 20 | Thu 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 AM | 5 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 19 | SW 19 | |
657 | 565 | 403 | 339 | 276 | 217 | 175 | 172 | 125 | 121 | 116 | 114 | 114 | 91 | 90 | 224 | 224 | 124 | 119 | 145 | 141 | 109 | 184 | 303 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | on | glassy | glassy | cross | glassy | on | on | on | on | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | |
High Tide | 11:59AM1.54m | 10:42PM2.46m | 1:06PM1.51m | 11:35PM2.33m | 2:19PM1.52m | 00:35AM2.14m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 5:20AM-0.07m | 4:17PM1.09m | 6:16AM-0.00m | 5:11PM1.18m | 7:16AM0.10m | 6:21PM1.25m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:46 |
 | — | — | — | 7:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | — | 7:45 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
15 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 11 | S 13 | S 13 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 19 |
 kJ | 657 | 565 | 403 | 339 | 276 | 217 | 175 | 172 | 125 | 121 | 90 | 90 | 114 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 49 | 124 | 119 | 145 | 141 | 109 | 109 | 303 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | S 15 | SSW 12 | S 15 | S 15 | S 15 | SSW 12 | S 14 | S 13 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SW 21 | SW 21 | W 10 | W 14 | W 13 | W 13 | W 13 | SW 19 | W 5 |
| kJ | 54 | 51 | 109 | 49 | 68 | 68 | 68 | 28 | 103 | 90 | 95 | 94 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 224 | 224 | 55 | 94 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 184 | 12 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | S 16 | SSW 12 | S 15 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 24 | WNW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 13 | SW 16 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | W 5 | SW 15 |
| kJ | 46 | 45 | 26 | 68 | 49 | 48 | 48 | 69 | 69 | 96 | 22 | 25 | 93 | 91 | 90 | 58 | 89 | 50 | 49 | 49 | 50 | 47 | 11 | 107 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 11 | W 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 116 | 114 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 44 | 185 | 91 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 92 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 44 | 193 | 111 | 21 | 21 | 8 |
Best forecast wave conditions in San Diego County | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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