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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 Friday 08 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 11AM is: 1.4m 7s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.9m 7s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 0.8m 11s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00am May 08). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (08 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 7s |
| Afternoon (08 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 8s |
| Evening (08 May) | 5.5ft (1.7m) | 8s |
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 Sat afternoon, min 15°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 8 | Saturday 9 | Sunday 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 12 | WNW 7 | NW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | |
145 | 129 | 200 | 202 | 155 | 256 | 310 | 370 | 388 | 551 | 301 | 288 | 275 | 306 | 300 | 415 | 385 | 287 | 280 | 237 | 273 | 348 | 381 | 232 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
off | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | glassy | glassy | |
High Tide | 1:31AM1.72m | 6:24PM1.48m | 2:44AM1.64m | 6:32PM1.56m | 4:10AM1.57m | 6:44PM1.66m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:03AM0.54m | 9:33PM1.43m | 10:52AM0.56m | 11:19PM1.32m | 11:33AM0.58m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:51 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 14 | 13 | 16 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 19 |
13 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 |
 kJ | 123 | 123 | 111 | 91 | 69 | 47 | 79 | 123 | 127 | 352 | 301 | 288 | 98 | 171 | 173 | 415 | 385 | 287 | 249 | 237 | 180 | 144 | 140 | 97 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SW 13 | SW 18 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 21 | SSW 20 | SSW 16 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | WNW 14 | W 10 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | WNW 13 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | WNW 11 |
| kJ | 44 | 44 | 121 | 145 | 43 | 78 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 241 | 158 | 94 | 152 | 151 | 216 | 82 | 51 | 280 | 280 | 93 | 273 | 348 | 381 | 176 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 19 | SSW 19 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 17 | SW 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | NW 16 | SSW 20 | NW 15 | NW 15 | WNW 15 | SW 12 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | SSW 18 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 36 | 37 | 44 | 44 | 27 | 43 | 12 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 64 | 77 | 58 | 55 | 84 | 6 | 80 | 75 | 101 | 178 | 121 | 172 | 145 | 232 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | NW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | — | — | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 8 | WNW 8 |
| kJ | 145 | 129 | 200 | 202 | 155 | 256 | 310 | 370 | 388 | 551 | — | — | 275 | 306 | 300 | 315 | 232 | — | — | — | — | — | 197 | 192 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 326 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 93 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 38 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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