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El Capitan Surf Forecast
/ CAL – Santa Barbara (36 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
El Capitan surfForecast / CAL – Santa Barbara / USA
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 10 am Wednesday 06 May 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
El Capitan surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's El Capitan sea temperature is
14.7° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 5PM is: 0.6m 14s primary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00am May 06). An open ocean swell of 0.2m 11s is not directed at the surf break, a second open ocean swell of 1.2m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (06 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 16s |
| Afternoon (06 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 14s |
| Evening (06 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 14s |
Table - waves today at El Capitan. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Thu afternoon, min 13°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 6 | Thursday 7 | Friday 8 | Sat 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | |
196 | 193 | 142 | 133 | 133 | 134 | 134 | 99 | 154 | 147 | 131 | 666 | 246 | 246 | 262 | 209 | 181 | 191 | 243 | 400 | 521 | 512 | 453 | 415 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | |
High Tide | 4:55PM1.36m | 00:38AM1.82m | 1:31AM1.72m | 6:24PM1.48m | 2:44AM1.64m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 8:08AM0.47m | 5:18PM1.36m | 9:06AM0.51m | 10:03AM0.54m | 9:33PM1.43m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 |
 | — | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | — | 7:50 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 15 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
14 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | WNW 6 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 |
 kJ | 196 | 193 | 142 | 133 | 133 | 134 | 134 | 99 | 55 | 147 | 131 | 95 | 89 | 45 | 44 | 121 | 153 | 103 | 48 | 78 | 79 | 123 | 127 | 415 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SSE 11 | SW 19 | WNW 15 | NW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 19 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 17 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 21 |
| kJ | 94 | 93 | 79 | 12 | 59 | 42 | 52 | 73 | 154 | 99 | 97 | 13 | 32 | 53 | 36 | 44 | 44 | 43 | 77 | 43 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 168 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SW 20 | WNW 16 | SW 19 | WSW 19 | NW 11 | SW 14 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SW 18 | SSW 19 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 13 | WNW 17 | WNW 17 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 |
| kJ | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 25 | 59 | 37 | 32 | 99 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 12 | 45 | 43 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 25 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | NW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 12 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | — |
| kJ | 13 | 12 | 28 | 59 | 72 | 92 | 106 | 80 | 112 | 59 | 85 | 666 | 246 | 246 | 262 | 209 | 181 | 191 | 243 | 400 | 521 | 512 | 453 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 165 | 329 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 326 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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