Surf Forecasts:
Driftwoods surf forecast from 17 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 21 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 13s period, S swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 21 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 12s period, SSW swell with 608 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 17 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 17s period with WNW swell.
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 (Jul 17) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 17s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 8s. 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 12s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 21) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 6s period and expected on Friday (Jul 24) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Fri 17th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 17s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Tue 21st Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Tue 21st Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Driftwoods over the next 16 days.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Sun afternoon, min 19°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 32°C on Wed afternoon, min 19°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | |||||||||||||||
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) | WNW 18 | WNW 17 | WNW 17 | SW 18 | SW 18 | WNW 16 | SW 17 | SW 17 | S 12 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | W 6 | WNW 6 | W 7 | SW 26 | S 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 104 | 97 | 96 | 194 | 159 | 142 | 238 | 238 | 187 | 331 | 342 | 324 | 608 | 275 | 150 | 218 | 227 | 212 | 104 | 118 | 126 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | on | cross | on | on | glassy | cross-on | on | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 1:27PM1.75m | 00:38AM1.94m | 2:10PM1.80m | 1:34AM1.67m | 2:53PM1.83m | 2:44AM1.43m | 3:39PM1.86m | 4:21AM1.26m | 4:27PM1.87m | 6:26AM1.22m | 5:17PM1.89m | 8:06AM1.27m | 6:06PM1.92m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:48PM0.96m | 7:27AM0.35m | 7:58PM0.95m | 8:04AM0.57m | 9:18PM0.91m | 8:40AM0.77m | 10:46PM0.83m | 9:19AM0.96m | 00:07AM0.71m | 10:07AM1.11m | 1:11AM0.58m | 11:12AM1.20m | 1:59AM0.47m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — |
 | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:08 | — | — | 8:08 | — | — | 8:07 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 25 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 22 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 20 | 30 | 32 | 24 | 31 | 32 | 28 |
Feels °C | 27 | 26 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 29 | 28 | 21 | 30 | 31 | 27 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | W 7 | W 5 | SW 17 | SSE 12 | S 12 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 8 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | W 7 | SSE 14 | S 13 |
| kJ | 94 | 90 | 62 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 238 | 152 | 187 | 331 | 342 | 324 | 608 | 275 | 113 | 218 | 215 | 180 | 89 | 118 | 126 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 18 | WNW 17 | WNW 17 | SW 18 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | S 11 | SW 17 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | S 17 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 7 | S 8 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 104 | 97 | 96 | 194 | 144 | 142 | 64 | 238 | 166 | 124 | 124 | 318 | 86 | 252 | 150 | 27 | 10 | 67 | 104 | 70 | 68 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 17 | WNW 16 | SW 18 | SSE 11 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | S 16 | S 8 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SSW 14 | SW 26 | SSW 26 |
| kJ | 54 | 54 | 77 | 146 | 159 | 39 | 135 | 91 | 73 | 69 | 69 | 40 | 35 | 34 | 77 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 71 | 105 | 66 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | WNW 2 | WNW 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 3 | W 5 | W 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | W 6 | WNW 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 64 | 227 | 212 | 91 | 84 | 90 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 48 | 8 | 0 | 47 | 8 | 0 | 47 | 47 | 5 | 68 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 130 | 1 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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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