Surf Forecasts:
Church surf forecast from 19 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 14s period, SSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 16s period, SSW swell with 387 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 18 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Church this week:
The surf forecast for Church over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Church in the next 16 days are 0.9m 16s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Tue 18th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Mon 24th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Church over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about what we've got on the table, Church.
To be straight with you, this stretch ain't shaping up to be a classic. The whole 16-day window is looking pretty underwhelming. We’ve got a persistent south-southwest to southwest swell trickling in, but it’s small, and the wind is constantly messing with it. There are no proper standouts here, just a lot of "marginal" and "poor" labels in the forecast. You're looking at about a week and a half of pretty ordinary conditions before we even get a sniff of something slightly better.
From the 18th of August right through to the 28th, it’s grim. Swell heights barely nudge above 2ft, and the wind is either a light cross-onshore or onshore, keeping the surface choppy and the quality low. The combined wave energy is weak to moderate, mostly hanging in the low hundreds, which tells you there's no power behind it. The water temp is a notable 72°, which is 5° warmer than usual for this time of year – definitely a warmer than normal swim, but not much to surf on.
Things start to perk up a tiny bit on the 29th of August. The swell lifts to a more noticeable 4ft to 4ft from the SSW, with a period around 16 to 17 seconds. That's a long-period groundswell, which brings better shape and energy. The combined energy jumps up to 792, which is the strongest we see in this whole outlook. The wind is still cross-on, but only a light breeze, so it won't be as messy as the previous days. For an advanced crew, this Saturday may offer the best of a bad bunch, but it's not something to get overly excited about. It's still a marginal call.
After that, we slide back into the same small, onshore slop for the first couple days of September. The peak of the outlook is honestly that Saturday the 29th, but even that's only worth a look if you're desperate for a paddle and you're an experienced surfer hunting for a long-period SSW swell at a point break.
So there you have it. Not a whole lot to write home about. Keep an eye on the charts, things can always change.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Wed morning, min 22°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Sat morning, min 23°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | ||||||||||||||
PM | 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) | SSW 17 | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 18 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SSW 14 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 243 | 272 | 377 | 387 | 249 | 236 | 236 | 226 | 156 | 137 | 135 | 92 | 167 | 218 | 177 | 155 | 269 | 197 | 179 | 273 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | glassy | on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | glassy | on | on | glassy | on | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 2:46AM0.87m | 2:22PM1.40m | 3:41PM1.37m | 8:16AM0.98m | 5:05PM1.40m | 8:13AM1.05m | 6:07PM1.49m | 8:24AM1.11m | 6:54PM1.59m | 8:38AM1.17m | 7:31PM1.68m | |||||||||
Low Tide | 8:50PM0.46m | 6:55AM0.73m | 10:43PM0.43m | 00:16AM0.32m | 9:51AM0.97m | 1:08AM0.21m | 11:54AM0.93m | 1:45AM0.11m | 12:49PM0.84m | 2:15AM0.03m | 1:27PM0.73m | 2:41AM-0.02m | ||||||||
 |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — |
 | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:29 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:27 | — | — | 7:25 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 24 |
Feels °C | 26 | 23 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 6 | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 14 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 |
| kJ | 41 | 272 | 377 | 387 | 249 | 236 | 236 | 226 | 156 | 137 | 135 | 92 | 167 | 218 | 137 | 135 | 269 | 197 | 179 | 273 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 17 | W 6 | W 7 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 5 | SW 18 | W 6 | SSW 16 | W 7 | SSW 12 | W 6 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 12 | W 6 | W 6 |
| kJ | 243 | 37 | 42 | 29 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 81 | 6 | 51 | 23 | 58 | 6 | 177 | 155 | 199 | 89 | 16 | 31 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | SW 19 | SW 20 | W 14 | SW 18 | SW 19 | WSW 19 | S 10 | W 6 | SSW 16 | SW 18 | SW 18 | W 6 | SW 19 | W 6 | SSW 16 | WSW 5 | W 6 | SSW 12 | S 13 |
| kJ | 98 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 57 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 51 | 49 | 81 | 12 | 58 | 18 | 84 | 8 | 15 | 85 | 126 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 6 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 85 | 0 | 79 | 207 | 16 | 63 | 85 | 0 | 84 | 85 | 0 | 84 | 85 | 0 | 84 | 118 | 0 | 84 | 85 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Orange County | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Church 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 Church Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Church provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Church can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Church 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 (Church) 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 Church 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.
Church is 7 km (4 miles) from San Clemente. If you plan a vacation in Orange County, look for hotels and other accommodation in San Clemente. San Clemente has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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