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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 am Saturday 02 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
14.5° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 7AM is: 0.9m 12s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.3m 14s secondary swell from a Southwest direction, 0.9m 8s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00am May 02). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (02 May) | 3ft (0.9m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (02 May) | 3ft (0.9m) | 12s |
| Evening (02 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 12s |
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 20°C on Sat afternoon, min 9°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 2 | Sunday 3 | Monday 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | NW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | NW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | |
335 | 325 | 241 | 233 | 230 | 226 | 184 | 144 | 180 | 161 | 158 | 90 | 113 | 123 | 135 | 104 | 173 | 226 | 248 | 339 | 330 | 362 | 325 | 357 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | glassy | glassy | cross | on | on | on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 11:38AM1.50m | 10:20PM2.09m | 12:28PM1.44m | 10:50PM2.05m | 1:26PM1.38m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 5:05AM0.27m | 4:08PM1.09m | 5:44AM0.29m | 4:33PM1.17m | 6:26AM0.34m | 4:57PM1.24m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | |  | | |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:09 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 11 |
13 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 8 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | NW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 18 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 16 | NW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 |
 kJ | 29 | 325 | 241 | 233 | 230 | 226 | 184 | 144 | 180 | 161 | 158 | 90 | 113 | 109 | 121 | 103 | 103 | 226 | 248 | 339 | 330 | 362 | 325 | 357 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 18 | SW 14 | SW 14 | S 11 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | WNW 6 | SW 16 | WNW 18 | SSW 15 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | SW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 31 | 30 | 31 | 9 | 31 | 30 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 50 | 51 | 13 | 61 | 123 | 84 | 104 | 173 | 101 | 99 | 166 | 71 | 66 | 71 | 69 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | S 10 | S 11 | SSW 18 | S 9 | SW 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | SSW 16 | NW 18 | SSW 15 | S 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSE 13 | SW 16 | SW 13 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 8 | 8 | 9 | 31 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 51 | 82 | 84 | 18 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 17 | 66 | 46 | 66 | 66 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 13 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | — | — | WNW 8 | W 4 | W 4 | NW 8 | — | — | — | WNW 7 | WNW 3 | WNW 11 | WNW 3 | WNW 11 | WNW 2 | WNW 2 | — | WSW 3 | W 3 | WNW 8 | WNW 3 |
| kJ | 335 | 151 | 114 | — | — | 84 | 6 | 7 | 65 | — | — | — | 32 | 2 | 135 | 3 | 46 | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | 5 | 51 | 4 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 331 | 38 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 296 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 326 | 326 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Live Wind Speed (km/h)
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Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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