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Surf Forecasts:

Driftwoods surfForecast / CAL – Santa Barbara / USA

information circle12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 10 pm Wednesday 17 Sep 2025 PDT
Forecast 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
20.2° C
 (Which is 2.9°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 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 18) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 15s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Driftwoods in the next 12 days are 0.5m 16s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 23) 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 1.3m 5s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 24) at 8PM.

Wave TypeTime (PDT) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 5AM (Thu 18th Sep)1.5ft (0.5m) 16s
Best Surf 5AM (Thu 18th Sep)1.5ft (0.5m) 16s
Most Powerful11AM (Tue 23rd Sep)1.5ft (0.5m) 16s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Driftwoods over the next 12 days.

Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent 
12 DaysHourly
Print Table

Short Range Forecast Light rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Warm (max 27°C on Sat afternoon, min 20°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 3-6 Weather Summary Light rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Warm (max 26°C on Sun morning, min 18°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light.

Thursday
18
Friday
19
Saturday
20
Sunday
21
Monday
22
Tuesday
23
Wed
24
NightAMPMNightAMPMNightAMPMNightAMPMNightAMPMNightAMPMNightAMPM
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
Swell
Height Map
See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)
0.5
S
0.4
S
0.5
S
0.7
WNW
0.6
WNW
0.6
WNW
0.4
S
0.4
S
0.4
S
1.1
WNW
0.4
SW
0.3
SW
0.4
SW
0.6
WNW
0.6
WNW
0.4
SW
0.5
SW
0.5
SW
0.5
SW
0.5
SW
0.5
SW
Period(s) (?)16161610101014131351414141111161615141414
Wave
Graph
(?)Metric surfscale
Energy kJ (?)1197611990787765555259533151102976812410610210297
Wind
(km/h)
5
W
0
NNW
5
WNW
0
E
5
S
10
WSW
5
NNW
10
SW
15
W
10
NNW
10
WSW
10
SW
5
WNW
5
SSE
5
SSW
5
NE
5
S
5
SW
0
NW
10
WSW
20
W
Wind State (?)
onshore
cross-onshore
cross-shore
cross-offshore
offshore
glassy
glassglassglassglassoncross-
on		glasscross-
on		crosscross-
off		cross-
on		cross-
on		glasscross-
on		onglasscross-
on		cross-
on		glasscross-
on		cross
High Tide
/ height (m)
9:00AM
1.70
8:10PM
2.06
9:24AM
1.77
8:53PM
2.03
9:47AM
1.83
9:33PM
1.97
10:09AM
1.88
10:12PM
1.87
10:31AM
1.92
10:51PM
1.76
10:53AM
1.94
11:32PM
1.62
11:16AM
1.94
Low Tide
/ height (m)
2:26AM
0.22
2:12PM
0.95
2:59AM
0.26
2:54PM
0.82
3:29AM
0.33
3:32PM
0.71
3:55AM
0.44
4:10PM
0.62
4:19AM
0.57
4:47PM
0.56
4:42AM
0.71
5:25PM
0.53
5:03AM
0.85
6:05PM
0.54
Thursday
18
Friday
19
Saturday
20
Sunday
21
Monday
22
Tuesday
23
Wed
24
Sunrise-6:43--6:45--6:46--6:46--6:47--6:48--6:48-
Sunset--7:01--7:00--6:59--6:58--6:55--6:54--6:53
light rain
part cloud
light rain
light rain
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
cloud
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
clear
clear
clear
Rain (mm)
2-14-----------512---
Temp. °C222323212325222527212626212525202122192426
Feels °C (?)222525232526232526192626222625212223202425
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder

Eyeball surf reportRecent Eyeball Surf Reports for CAL - Santa Barbara

  1. weather stationWind Update Continuing clean conditions at Driftwoods (calm at BUOY-NTBC1 22 km from Driftwoods). 0.5m 12s groundswell from the WSW with a 0.5m 4s local chop from the W and a 0.3m 6s windswell, also from the W as well as a 0.3m 13s groundswell, also from the S. 4 swells combining to make bigger set waves.

    1 hour 9 minutes ago Driftwoods
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22 km away, 1 h 9 min ago

5 km/h
SW
0.0
20.2
Air / Water (°C)
Please reload the page to see if there are any updates.

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.

View detailed surf forecast for Driftwoods at:
surf-forecast.com

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 12 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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