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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 4 pm Friday 15 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
15.4° C
(Which is 1.3°C warmer than normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 8PM is: 1.9m 10s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.8m 14s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction, 0.2m 18s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00pm May 15). The wind direction is predicted to be offshore and the swell rating is 3.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (15 May) | - | - |
| Afternoon (15 May) | 6ft (1.9m) | 10s |
| Evening (15 May) | 6ft (1.9m) | 10s |
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 23°C on Sun afternoon, min 10°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fri 15 | Saturday 16 | Sunday 17 | Mon 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 8 AM | 11 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | NW 10 | NW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | |
655 | 482 | 651 | 763 | 1756 | 1599 | 1082 | 1490 | 1744 | 1970 | 2423 | 2603 | 2872 | 2894 | 2700 | 2472 | 2920 | 3177 | 3392 | 2621 | 1751 | 1268 | 1138 | 902 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | cross-on | off | glassy | off | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | cross | glassy | on | |
High Tide | 8:57PM2.38m | 10:42AM1.56m | 9:38PM2.45m | 11:42AM1.53m | 10:23PM2.45m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 2:36PM0.91m | 4:12AM0.01m | 3:17PM0.99m | 5:03AM-0.08m | 4:01PM1.07m | 5:56AM-0.09m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:54 | — | — |
 | — | 7:54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:57 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 20 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
19 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 19 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 |
 kJ | 399 | 223 | 217 | 168 | 924 | 943 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 163 | 163 | 115 | 110 | 104 | 70 | 69 | 59 | 58 | 58 | 1751 | 1268 | 1138 | 902 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | WNW 18 | WNW 18 | NW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | WNW 16 | S 10 | S 10 | S 11 | S 11 | S 14 | S 10 | S 14 | S 18 | S 18 | S 18 | S 18 | S 17 | S 17 | SSW 13 | SSW 16 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 236 | 31 | 30 | 69 | 156 | 222 | 99 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 58 | 87 | 33 | 31 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 16 | NW 16 | NW 16 | S 15 | S 15 | S 15 | S 15 | SW 19 | S 11 | — | S 10 | S 14 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 13 | S 16 | S 16 |
| kJ | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 67 | 66 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 2 | — | 2 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 53 | 34 | 46 | 46 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | NW 10 | NW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | — | — | ESE 3 | ESE 4 |
| kJ | 655 | 482 | 651 | 763 | 1756 | 1599 | 1082 | 1490 | 1744 | 1970 | 2423 | 2603 | 2872 | 2894 | 2700 | 2472 | 2920 | 3177 | 3392 | 2621 | — | — | 2 | 3 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 166 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 329 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 165 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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