Surf Forecasts:
Cottons Point surf forecast from 14 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 14 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 18s period, SSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 15 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 17s period, SSW swell with 807 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 14 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 18s period with SSW swell.
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 Friday (Aug 14) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 18s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 15s. 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 1.2m 17s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 15) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Fri 14th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 18s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Fri 14th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 18s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Sat 15th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cottons Point over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for this stretch. We’re looking at a pretty lean start, so don’t bother paddling out just yet. The first real glimmer of anything worth a look isn’t until the tail end of the outlook, so you’ve got a lot of time to get the gear sorted.
The pattern is a slow burn. For the first week and a half, we’re stuck with small, weak swell and a cross-onshore wind that’s gonna keep things messy. The combined wave energy is bouncing around in the moderate range, but it’s mostly just a lot of motion with no real power. It’s not until the very end of the period that we finally see a pulse that’ll get your heart rate up.
The standout session is hands down the afternoon of Friday the 28th of August at Cottons Point. The swell is pushing 8 ft from the SSW, but the key here is the wind drops to nothing – glassy conditions. Combined energy hits 2279, which is a serious amount of power. That’s a proper swell, but it’s big. Anything over 8 ft is expert territory, and this is right on the edge. For an experienced surfer on a reef or point setup, that’s a session to mark on the calendar. The morning of the 28th is also pumping with 8 ft and light offshore wind, but the afternoon is where the magic happens.
The Thursday morning of the 27th of August is a decent runner-up, with 6 ft of south swell and light offshore wind. Combined energy is 1367, so it’s got some grunt, but it’s not as clean as the Friday.
Before that, it’s pretty grim. The first week is all sub-3 ft waves with cross-onshore breezes. The combined energy barely cracks 400 most days. You’re looking at a long, quiet gap. The Tuesday morning of the 25th of August has a little pulse from the SW at 2 ft with light offshore wind, but the energy is weak and it’s still marginal.
Water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing to write home about.
So, to sum it up: don’t bother for the first week. The real action is in the last few days of August, with Friday the 28th being the clear winner. Get your big-wave board ready.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Sun afternoon, min 19°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Tue afternoon, min 22°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 302 | 404 | 807 | 417 | 683 | 666 | 499 | 372 | 367 | 330 | 264 | 261 | 232 | 240 | 272 | 377 | 387 | 246 | 236 | 236 | 175 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | on | glassy | on | on | cross | on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 11:02AM1.53m | 10:48PM1.74m | 11:37AM1.55m | 11:31PM1.52m | 12:11PM1.55m | 00:18AM1.28m | 12:47PM1.51m | 1:15AM1.05m | 1:28PM1.45m | 2:46AM0.87m | 2:22PM1.40m | 3:41PM1.37m | |||||||||
Low Tide | 4:50PM0.32m | 5:23AM-0.01m | 5:38PM0.33m | 5:51AM0.17m | 6:30PM0.37m | 6:17AM0.37m | 7:30PM0.43m | 6:40AM0.56m | 8:50PM0.46m | 6:55AM0.73m | 10:43PM0.43m | 00:16AM0.32m | |||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:11 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — |
 | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:34 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 23 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 23 |
Feels °C | 24 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | W 7 | W 8 | W 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | W 7 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 255 | 404 | 807 | 417 | 683 | 666 | 499 | 372 | 367 | 330 | 264 | 71 | 103 | 71 | 272 | 377 | 387 | 246 | 47 | 236 | 175 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 18 | SW 14 | SSW 12 | SW 14 | S 11 | W 5 | W 6 | S 10 | W 6 | W 6 | SSW 18 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | W 9 | W 7 | W 7 | W 6 | SSW 14 | W 7 | W 7 |
| kJ | 302 | 214 | 46 | 191 | 21 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 29 | 36 | 63 | 261 | 232 | 240 | 55 | 61 | 43 | 28 | 236 | 46 | 33 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SSW 11 | W 11 | S 11 | W 11 | S 11 | S 10 | W 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 19 | SW 20 | W 14 | SW 18 | SW 19 | WSW 19 | S 10 |
| kJ | 37 | 66 | 2 | 37 | 2 | 20 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 116 | 98 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 57 | 35 | 8 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | W 4 | W 5 | — | — | W 5 | — | — | W 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | 6 | 7 | — | — | 20 | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 82 | 87 | 11 | 87 | 87 | 11 | 87 | 87 | 11 | 87 | 87 | 0 | 13 | 87 | 0 | 87 | 87 | 21 | 87 | 87 | 61 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Orange 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 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.
Nearest