Surf Forecasts:
Depressions surf forecast from 27 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 26 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 11s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 18s period, SW swell with 312 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 11s period with SSE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Depressions this week:
The surf forecast for Depressions over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 15s. Another secondary swell of 0.9m and 7s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Depressions in the next 16 days are 0.7m 18s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.1m 15s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 30) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Depressions over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.
First up, the water temperature at Depressions is sitting at 70°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s very unusual, so you’ll be leaving the wetsuit at home for sure.
Honestly, the outlook is a bit of a slow burner. There’s nothing really firing right now, and the first week is mostly a write-off for anything decent. You’ll be looking at a few days of marginal, small, and messy conditions. The wind is mostly cross-onshore, and the swell is small and inconsistent.
There is a bit of a bright spot on the horizon, though. The best bet in the whole 16-day window looks to be Wednesday afternoon, the 2nd of September. The wind goes glassy, and we’ve got a 3ft swell from the South with a 12-second period. The combined swell energy is moderate (325). It’s a small window, but it’ll be the cleanest you’ll see.
Then, Friday the 4th of September is another standout. The morning is glassy with a 2ft swell from the SSW, but the period is a very long 17 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, and it’ll be clean. The afternoon picks up a light cross-offshore breeze, keeping it tidy. The combined energy is moderate (359 and 425). It’s not huge, but for a point break or reef setup, that long period will make for some pretty lines.
After that, Sunday morning, the 6th of September is looking glassy again with a 3ft SSW swell, period of 14 seconds. Combined energy is moderate (274). A solid call for a dawny.
The rest of the week after that is mostly small and onshore, with nothing to get excited about. The 8th of September shows a jump to 5ft, but it’s a short period windswell from the WNW, and the wind is messy, so it’s not recommended.
Overall, it’s a lean period. The swell energy is moderate to weak for most of it. The quality is low, but keep an eye on that 2nd and 4th of September for a chance at some clean, if small, waves.
Stay patient, Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 33°C on Fri afternoon, min 24°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Sat afternoon, min 19°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Wed 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | S 10 | S 11 | WNW 8 | SW 16 | WNW 6 | SW 18 | SW 17 | WNW 6 | SW 16 | WNW 8 | SSW 14 | S 14 | SSW 14 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | S 11 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 189 | 126 | 75 | 121 | 206 | 66 | 106 | 312 | 302 | 213 | 255 | 244 | 218 | 261 | 115 | 83 | 113 | 145 | 128 | 121 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 9:10PM2.11m | 10:30AM1.66m | 9:45PM2.07m | 10:51AM1.73m | 10:22PM1.99m | 11:14AM1.81m | 11:01PM1.86m | 11:39AM1.87m | 11:45PM1.70m | 12:07PM1.93m | 00:36AM1.51m | 12:42PM1.96m | 1:45AM1.33m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:05PM0.98m | 4:07AM0.27m | 3:43PM0.89m | 4:32AM0.32m | 4:22PM0.81m | 4:56AM0.41m | 5:03PM0.74m | 5:19AM0.53m | 5:49PM0.69m | 5:43AM0.68m | 6:42PM0.65m | 6:08AM0.82m | 7:45PM0.63m | |||||||
 |  |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — |
 | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:29 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:27 | — | — | 7:24 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 31 | 29 | 28 | 32 | 26 | 31 | 33 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 22 |
Feels °C | 31 | 30 | 30 | 34 | 26 | 30 | 32 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 21 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | S 9 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | S 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | S 11 |
| kJ | 189 | 83 | 65 | 63 | 206 | 62 | 26 | 312 | 302 | 206 | 255 | 228 | 218 | 261 | 92 | 83 | 113 | 145 | 128 | 121 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | SSE 11 | S 10 | S 11 | S 10 | S 9 | SW 16 | S 18 | S 17 | S 16 | S 16 | S 9 | S 9 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | SW 13 | SW 18 |
| kJ | 48 | 126 | 71 | 121 | 75 | 43 | 69 | 152 | 91 | 127 | 124 | 2 | 2 | 183 | 115 | 70 | 14 | 13 | 44 | 79 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 15 | S 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 16 | W 10 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 10 | SW 21 | SSE 13 | SW 19 | W 10 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 18 | WNW 7 |
| kJ | 85 | 75 | 75 | 73 | 65 | 66 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 96 | 14 | 8 | 68 | 45 | 31 | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | WNW 6 | — | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 9 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | — | — | WNW 9 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 101 | — | 106 | 148 | 243 | 213 | 201 | 244 | 195 | 93 | 58 | 35 | — | — | 28 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 310 | 0 | 310 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Depressions 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 Depressions Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Depressions provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Depressions can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Depressions 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 (Depressions) 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 Depressions 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.
Depressions is 1 km (1 miles) from Isla Vista. If you plan a vacation in Santa Barbara, look for hotels and other accommodation in Isla Vista. Isla Vista has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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