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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 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 3PM is: 1.4m 7s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.5m 11s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 0.4m 13s secondary swell from a Southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00am May 08). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (08 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (08 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 7s |
| 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 morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 8 | Saturday 9 | Sunday 10 | Mon 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | WNW 8 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | |
121 | 113 | 172 | 301 | 302 | 361 | 379 | 551 | 295 | 288 | 239 | 270 | 335 | 415 | 385 | 433 | 280 | 237 | 352 | 348 | 381 | 232 | 308 | 227 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | glassy | glassy | |
High Tide | 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 | 00:23AM1.14m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 |
 | — | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:51 | — | — | — | 7:52 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 15 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
15 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 |
 kJ | 121 | 113 | 69 | 78 | 79 | 123 | 127 | 344 | 295 | 288 | 122 | 171 | 173 | 415 | 385 | 308 | 249 | 237 | 180 | 144 | 140 | 78 | 308 | 227 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 21 | SSW 20 | SSW 16 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | WNW 14 | WNW 10 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | WNW 13 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 44 | 44 | 43 | 43 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 241 | 158 | 94 | 152 | 151 | 216 | 82 | 75 | 280 | 280 | 93 | 352 | 348 | 381 | 176 | 229 | 226 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 18 | SW 17 | SSW 17 | WNW 17 | 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 | S 12 | WNW 12 |
| kJ | 12 | 45 | 27 | 30 | 12 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 64 | 131 | 58 | 55 | 84 | 6 | 80 | 75 | 101 | 178 | 121 | 172 | 145 | 232 | 12 | 15 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 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 | — | — |
| kJ | 111 | 99 | 172 | 301 | 302 | 361 | 379 | 551 | — | — | 239 | 270 | 335 | 323 | 232 | 433 | — | — | — | — | 197 | 192 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 166 | 329 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 326 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 166 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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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