Surf Forecasts:
Depressions surf forecast from 26 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 26 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 13s 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★+): Tuesday 25 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 16s period with SW 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 Tuesday (Aug 25) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 16s. Another secondary swell of 1.1m and 5s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore 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-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 14s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 30) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Tue 25th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Wed 26th Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 13s |
| 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. Gonna be real with you about Depressions. This stretch is a tough one, no two ways about it. The forecast is a long, flat grind with barely a ripple worth paddling for across the entire 16-day window. We're talking a lot of days where the best you'll get is a marginal knee-high bump, and most of the time even that is blown out or messy. The overall wave energy is pretty weak for the most part, with only a few pulses that get into the moderate range but never really deliver clean surf.
Alright, let's wade through the muck. The first real chance of something surfable pops up on Thursday, 27th August. The afternoon session is where it's at. There's a tiny 2ft swell pushing in from the S, with a period of 11 seconds, so it's a little long-period groundswell. The real winner here is the wind going glassy. That means the water will be like a mirror, which is a massive positive for these small conditions. The combined energy is moderate at (261). It won't be epic, but for a stand-alone moment it's about as good as it gets in this outlook.
Friday, 28th August tries to build, with the morning showing a 4ft swell from the WNW, but it's an 8-second windswell period which is junk. The energy is moderate (315), but the quality is poor. The afternoon turns into a messy 7ft chunky windswell with a pathetic 6-second period and a cross-onshore breeze. That's too big and crumbly for the fun police. Honestly, if you see that 7ft and 6 seconds, it’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session.
After that, the rest of the first week and into the second week is just a series of "poor" and "marginal" tags. There's a persistent run of SSW swells from the 30th of August right through to September 6th, but they hover around 2ft to 3ft. The combined energy occasionally spikes up to (565) on the 29th, and (524) on the 30th, which sounds significant until you see the wind is all wrong. Strong cross-onshore winds ruin any chance of those swells holding up.
Into the second week, things go completely flat. You are looking at a solid gap from around the 5th of September onward where conditions are just dead. The waves shrink to 1ft - 2ft, and the energy drops off a cliff. From the 7th of September through the 9th, it's a wasteland of tiny, poor, and poorly-directed energy.
So there are no true standouts. The only flicker of light in the tunnel is that Thursday afternoon window. The rest of the time, you’re better off finding something else to do. The water temp anomaly is wild though – a massive 4° warmer than normal at the start of the period, which is very unusual. So at least you can have a warm bath while you’re sitting there.
Hang in there, it often doesn't stay this poor for long.
Stay salty,
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 33°C on Wed morning, min 24°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 32°C on Fri afternoon, min 18°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SW 16 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | WNW 8 | S 12 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 6 | S 12 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||
91 | 133 | 212 | 189 | 126 | 87 | 171 | 82 | 119 | 193 | 312 | 302 | 261 | 255 | 249 | 242 | 215 | 116 | 119 | 106 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | glassy | on | on | glassy | glassy | on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:34PM2.09m | 10:09AM1.59m | 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 | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:29PM1.07m | 3:42AM0.25m | 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 | |||||||
— | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | |
7:35 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:29 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:27 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 31 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 26 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 21 |
Feels °C | 31 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 27 | 31 | 32 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | WNW 5 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | S 12 | WNW 6 | S 9 | S 9 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | WNW 7 | SSE 12 | S 12 |
55 | 46 | 212 | 189 | 77 | 87 | 171 | 82 | 42 | 25 | 312 | 302 | 261 | 255 | 249 | 242 | 215 | 97 | 119 | 106 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SSE 13 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | SSE 11 | S 10 | WNW 8 | S 10 | W 10 | SW 16 | S 18 | S 17 | S 16 | S 16 | SSE 14 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
91 | 133 | 38 | 38 | 126 | 73 | 63 | 77 | 32 | 68 | 152 | 91 | 127 | 124 | 38 | 40 | 35 | 116 | 73 | 68 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | S 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 16 | S 19 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 10 | W 12 | — | SSE 12 | SW 19 | SW 19 |
10 | 89 | 124 | 85 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 65 | 66 | 66 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | 89 | 14 | 14 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | — | — | — | ESE 2 | — | WNW 5 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 9 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | — | WNW 6 | WNW 5 |
36 | 54 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 72 | 119 | 193 | 148 | 243 | 206 | 181 | 206 | 161 | 93 | — | 95 | 64 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 0 | 35 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 310 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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.











