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Driftwoods Surf Forecast
/ CAL – Santa Barbara (36 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Driftwoods surfForecast / CAL – Santa Barbara / USA
16 Day Weather and Surf, issued 10 am Friday 22 May 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Driftwoods surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Driftwoods sea temperature is
15.3° C
(Which is 1.0°C warmer than normal for this time of year)Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Driftwoods this week:
The surf forecast for Driftwoods over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (May 22) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 15s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 10s. Another secondary swell of 0.4m and 4s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Driftwoods in the next 16 days are 1.4m 11s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (May 28) 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 1.7m 6s period and expected on Tuesday (May 26) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Fri 22nd May) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 15s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Wed 27th May) | 5ft (1.5m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Thu 28th May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Driftwoods over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Fri morning, min 12°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Tue afternoon, min 10°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | Sunday 24 | Monday 25 | Tuesday 26 | Wednesday 27 | Thursday 28 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
SW 18 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 8 | WNW 10 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 18 | |
109 | 64 | 116 | 122 | 124 | 124 | 110 | 104 | 103 | 144 | 197 | 164 | 246 | 263 | 291 | 334 | 397 | 431 | 297 | 245 | 211 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | on | cross-on | glassy | |
High Tide | 5:05PM1.67m | 3:40AM1.72m | 5:51PM1.78m | 5:05AM1.59m | 6:28PM1.88m | 6:24AM1.51m | 7:00PM1.96m | 7:33AM1.47m | 7:29PM2.03m | 8:33AM1.46m | 7:56PM2.08m | 9:25AM1.46m | 8:23PM2.11m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:51AM0.30m | 10:16PM1.20m | 10:46AM0.43m | 11:45PM1.04m | 11:36AM0.56m | 00:52AM0.85m | 12:19PM0.69m | 1:44AM0.67m | 12:57PM0.82m | 2:27AM0.51m | 1:31PM0.93m | 3:05AM0.38m | 2:04PM1.02m | 3:40AM0.29m | |||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | |
 | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — |
 | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:01 | — | — | 8:01 | — | — | 8:02 | — | — | 8:04 | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 20 | 20 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 15 |
19 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | WNW 10 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 |
 kJ | 91 | 64 | 57 | 122 | 124 | 124 | 110 | 104 | 103 | 144 | 197 | 164 | 246 | 263 | 165 | 334 | 397 | 431 | 297 | 245 | 131 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 18 | SW 15 | SW 15 | WNW 10 | S 12 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | S 11 | WNW 9 | S 17 | NW 14 | WNW 13 | NW 12 | — | WNW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 18 |
| kJ | 109 | 54 | 116 | 33 | 11 | 34 | 33 | 9 | 17 | 87 | 51 | 67 | 38 | — | 19 | 160 | 115 | 113 | 105 | 105 | 211 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 21 | S 11 | S 11 | SSW 19 | S 17 | NW 15 | S 17 | S 16 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | WNW 12 | W 24 | WNW 21 | NW 20 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 32 | 29 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 53 | 54 | 92 | 81 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 53 | 11 | 45 | 97 | 60 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WNW 3 | — | — | WNW 10 | — | WNW 10 | W 10 | WNW 3 | WNW 3 | W 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 10 | WNW 12 | NW 4 | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 3 | — | — | 33 | — | 10 | 50 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 40 | 22 | 192 | 291 | 278 | 265 | 14 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 303 | 8 | 0 | 129 | 8 | 0 | 42 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 303 | 0 | 8 | 1612 | 0 | 8 | 1612 | 0 | 128 | 8 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Driftwoods 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 Driftwoods Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Driftwoods provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Driftwoods can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Driftwoods 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 (Driftwoods) 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 Driftwoods 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.
Driftwoods is 7 km (4 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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