Surf Forecasts:
Depressions surf forecast from 22 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 26 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 15s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 26 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 15s period, S swell with 452 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 22 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 5s period with WNW 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 Saturday (Aug 22) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 5s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 13s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Depressions in the next 16 days are 1.0m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8PM. 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 12s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 5s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Depressions over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's on the table for Depressions over the next couple of weeks.
To be honest, the outlook is a long, slow burn. The first few days are a write-off, with tiny, weak swell and persistent onshore or cross-onshore winds messing up any chance of a decent wave. The "combined energy" is weak, sitting between 149 and 237 for the first few days, and the conditions are just poor. You’re looking at a gap of nearly a week before anything even gets close to being worth a paddle.
The first real glimmer of hope shows up on Wednesday afternoon, 26 August. The swell bumps up to 6 ft from the WNW, but with a short period of just 6 seconds, it's going to be a bit of a messy, choppy affair. The wind is light cross-onshore, and the combined energy jumps to 680. It's still only a marginal call, but it's the best we've seen all week.
Thursday the 27th is a bit of a tease. Clean, glassy conditions on the Friday morning, 28 August with a 3 ft WNW swell and an 8-second period. The combined energy is 244. It's rideable, but it's not going to be anything special. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.
The second week kicks off with a bit more size but still messy. Monday afternoon, 31 August sees a 7 ft WNW swell, but with a 6-second period, it's a choppy, cross-onshore mess. The combined energy is 486. It's a kite-surfing kind of day, not a paddle-surfing one.
The best chance of a decent wave comes later in the window. Tuesday, 1 September has a 8 ft WNW swell with a 7-second period, but the wind is light cross-onshore. The combined energy is 555. It's marginal, but the size is there. However, at over 8 ft, this is only for the experts.
Then, towards the end of the run, Sunday, 6 September morning looks promising. A 5 ft SSE swell with a long 16-second period. The combined energy is a strong 1181, and the wind is light and offshore. This is the standout. The long period means it's a groundswell, so it's going to be better shaped and more powerful. The light offshore wind should keep it clean. It's a promising call, but it's far out, so treat it as a hopeful target.
All in all, there's not much to get excited about for the first week. The second week has a couple of marginal days, but the Sunday the 6th is the one to keep an eye on. Don't hold your breath.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Mon morning, min 23°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 34°C on Tue afternoon, min 25°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | ||||||||||||||
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 | WNW 8 | SSW 15 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | SW 16 | WNW 6 | S 14 | S 13 | S 12 | S 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 57 | 56 | 60 | 71 | 89 | 79 | 112 | 109 | 98 | 135 | 132 | 131 | 123 | 122 | 272 | 405 | 209 | 181 | 87 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | on | cross-on | cross | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-off | on | on | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:55AM1.39m | 6:29PM1.88m | 9:13AM1.44m | 7:17PM1.97m | 9:31AM1.49m | 7:57PM2.04m | 9:50AM1.54m | 8:34PM2.09m | 10:09AM1.59m | 9:10PM2.11m | 10:30AM1.66m | 9:45PM2.07m | |||||||
Low Tide | 1:34AM0.49m | 12:14PM1.30m | 2:13AM0.40m | 1:10PM1.24m | 2:46AM0.33m | 1:52PM1.16m | 3:15AM0.27m | 2:29PM1.07m | 3:42AM0.25m | 3:05PM0.98m | 4:07AM0.27m | 3:43PM0.89m | 4:32AM0.32m | ||||||
 |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — |
 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 26 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 32 | 34 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 28 |
Feels °C | 27 | 28 | 29 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 25 | 31 | 30 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 28 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | W 7 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | WNW 8 | SSW 13 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 12 | SSE 13 | S 14 | S 13 | S 12 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | 57 | 32 | 41 | 71 | 77 | 57 | 112 | 109 | 98 | 135 | 132 | 91 | 89 | 71 | 187 | 405 | 209 | 181 | 41 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 8 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SSW 14 | S 14 | SSW 12 | S 13 | S 13 | SSW 13 | S 13 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SSE 10 | SW 15 | WNW 8 |
| kJ | 23 | 35 | 19 | 22 | 89 | 79 | 65 | 37 | 28 | 55 | 55 | 33 | 51 | 122 | 166 | 78 | 32 | 104 | 60 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 18 | SSW 13 | SW 17 | SSW 19 | SSW 13 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | SSW 14 | S 14 | SSE 10 | SSE 11 | SSE 13 | SSE 11 | SSE 15 | S 18 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | S 11 |
| kJ | 30 | 56 | 43 | 37 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 41 | 36 | 10 | 11 | 32 | 23 | 74 | 55 | 28 | 45 | 22 | 87 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 5 | — | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | 48 | 26 | 60 | 46 | — | 54 | 41 | 24 | 42 | 38 | 39 | 131 | 123 | 74 | 272 | 83 | 99 | 131 | 72 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 159 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 42 | 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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