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Cottons Point Surf Forecast
/ CAL – Orange County (51 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Cottons Point surfForecast / CAL – Orange County / USA
16 Day Weather and Surf, issued 4 am Tuesday 05 May 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Cottons Point surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Cottons Point sea temperature is
18.1° C
(Which is 2.3°C warmer than normal for this time of year)Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cottons Point this week:
The surf forecast for Cottons Point over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (May 05) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 15s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cottons Point in the next 16 days are 1.0m 18s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (May 10) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Tue 5th May) | 2ft (0.6m) 15s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Sun 10th May) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 17s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Sun 10th May) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cottons Point over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Tue morning. Very mild (max 18°C on Wed afternoon, min 14°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sat afternoon, min 16°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 5 | Wednesday 6 | Thursday 7 | Friday 8 | Saturday 9 | Sunday 10 | Monday 11 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | |
144 | 142 | 239 | 251 | 191 | 134 | 136 | 99 | 88 | 44 | 121 | 127 | 155 | 218 | 436 | 395 | 582 | 330 | 487 | 397 | 279 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross | cross-on | on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | on | on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | |
High Tide | 12:54PM0.87m | 11:02PM1.47m | 2:13PM0.84m | 11:39PM1.38m | 4:15PM0.87m | 00:32AM1.27m | 5:16PM0.95m | 2:04AM1.17m | 5:36PM1.05m | 3:47AM1.13m | 5:57PM1.18m | 5:06AM1.14m | 6:20PM1.33m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 4:32PM0.73m | 7:08AM0.06m | 4:52PM0.79m | 8:09AM0.12m | 5:19PM0.87m | 9:15AM0.16m | 8:16PM0.91m | 10:16AM0.16m | 10:26PM0.83m | 11:05AM0.16m | 11:41PM0.65m | 11:46AM0.16m | 00:34AM0.43m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:58 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — |
 | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:39 | — |
1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 21 |
11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 20 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 8 | W 10 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 |
 kJ | 144 | 142 | 239 | 251 | 191 | 134 | 136 | 99 | 24 | 39 | 28 | 31 | 86 | 89 | 436 | 395 | 582 | 330 | 487 | 397 | 279 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 18 | S 12 | W 5 | W 6 | S 11 | W 5 | W 6 | W 6 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 20 | SSW 16 | W 9 | W 7 | W 10 | W 9 | W 12 | W 11 | W 10 |
| kJ | 80 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 23 | 16 | 88 | 44 | 121 | 127 | 155 | 171 | 62 | 22 | 46 | 39 | 66 | 56 | 32 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | WNW 13 | S 11 | S 11 | WNW 12 | SW 19 | SW 19 | W 11 | SW 18 | SSW 16 | SW 13 | WNW 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 20 | SW 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 |
| kJ | 11 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 15 | 2 | 50 | 26 | 44 | 15 | 91 | 218 | 45 | 31 | 31 | 27 | 11 | 25 | 26 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 4 | W 5 | — | — | W 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 17 | 29 | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 161 | 561 | 0 | 82 | 87 | 11 | 87 | 87 | 40 | 82 | 87 | 36 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 87 | 228 | 0 | 82 | 11 | 11 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Orange County | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Cottons Point 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 Cottons Point Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cottons Point provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cottons Point can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cottons Point 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 (Cottons Point) 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 Cottons Point 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.
Cottons Point is 5 km (3 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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