Surf Forecasts:
Depressions surf forecast from 13 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 17 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 9s period, WNW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 16 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 9s period, WNW swell with 371 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 14 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 13s period with SSW 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 (Jul 14) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Depressions in the next 16 days are 1.6m 9s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 16) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 4s period and expected on Friday (Jul 17) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Tue 14th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Fri 17th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Thu 16th Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Depressions over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, let's talk about what's coming up at Depressions.
First off, the water is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 64°, so you’ll get away with a thinner suit.
The next week and a half is a bit of a write-off, I'm not gonna lie to you. We’ve got a solid 10-day stretch from Monday the 13th through to Wednesday the 22nd where the surf is pretty much junk. The wave energy is weak to moderate at best (180 to 464), and the wind is predominantly onshore from the WSW or SW, which is just gonna chop things up. We'll see a few pulses of waist-high WSW swell, but period is short and messy, and the system is calling it 'poor surf conditions' for almost every session. You’re better off waiting.
There is a flicker of hope on Thursday the 23rd – that’s 10 days out. A new SSE swell shows up with a solid 3 ft of height and a 14-second period. The real standout here is the wind. On Thursday afternoon, it goes glassy – zero wind – and the wave comment jumps to 'expect good surf conditions' with a moderate energy reading (436). The morning is also looking clean with a light cross-offshore breeze from the ESE. The swell direction is SSE, which is pretty close to the optimum WSW, so it’ll wrap in okay. This is the best window in the whole 16-day run, no doubt. It’s small, but clean.
After that, the weekend of the 24th and 25th drops back into onshore slop with a south swell, and the confidence drops. The final week of July stays marginal, with a few longer-period SW groundswells (17-19 seconds) pushing through, but the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, keeping it from really cleaning up. The energy is moderate to strong (453 to 486) but the conditions just aren't there.
So, to be straight with you: the only time to get wet is Thursday the 23rd. The morning has a clean cross-offshore breeze, and the afternoon is dead glassy. That’s your window. Make the most of it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Mon morning. Warm (max 32°C on Wed afternoon, min 21°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Thu afternoon, min 18°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | |||||||||||||||
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 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 18 | SW 18 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 17 | SW 18 | SW 18 | WNW 16 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 139 | 141 | 68 | 44 | 49 | 109 | 111 | 167 | 169 | 207 | 246 | 293 | 197 | 112 | 95 | 194 | 159 | 142 | 238 | 238 | 130 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross-on | glassy | on | on | cross-off | on | on | glassy | on | on | glassy |
High Tide | 10:38AM1.52m | 9:15PM2.51m | 11:20AM1.58m | 10:06PM2.48m | 12:03PM1.64m | 10:56PM2.37m | 12:45PM1.70m | 11:46PM2.18m | 1:27PM1.75m | 00:38AM1.94m | 2:10PM1.80m | 1:34AM1.67m | 2:53PM1.83m | 2:44AM1.43m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:53PM1.07m | 4:42AM-0.16m | 3:49PM1.03m | 5:26AM-0.12m | 4:46PM0.99m | 6:08AM-0.01m | 5:45PM0.97m | 6:48AM0.15m | 6:48PM0.96m | 7:27AM0.35m | 7:58PM0.95m | 8:04AM0.57m | 9:18PM0.91m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — |
 | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:12 | — | — | 8:12 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:09 | — |
mm | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 25 | 23 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 23 |
Feels °C | 26 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 24 | 23 | 22 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 4 | S 12 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | WNW 8 | SW 16 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | W 7 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | SW 17 | SSE 13 | S 11 |
| kJ | 139 | 141 | 68 | 4 | 47 | 109 | 107 | 67 | 90 | 207 | 87 | 287 | 197 | 112 | 60 | 24 | 144 | 142 | 238 | 127 | 86 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | S 12 | SW 18 | SSW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | SW 16 | WNW 19 | SW 19 | WNW 18 | WNW 17 | WNW 17 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | WNW 15 | SW 17 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 22 | 16 | 32 | 26 | 49 | 56 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 89 | 72 | 92 | 104 | 97 | 95 | 194 | 159 | 65 | 93 | 238 | 130 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 16 | SW 19 | S 12 | SW 13 | WNW 9 | WNW 14 | S 13 | S 12 | SSW 12 | WNW 20 | W 13 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 17 | WNW 16 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | SSE 12 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 |
| kJ | 19 | 59 | 26 | 44 | 7 | 41 | 14 | 11 | 28 | 38 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 77 | 146 | 13 | 9 | 50 | 91 | 73 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | W 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | — | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 6 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 17 | 74 | 111 | 167 | 169 | 192 | 246 | 293 | — | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 23 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 76 | 310 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 149 | 1 | 0 |
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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