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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 13 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
15.2° C
(Which is 1.2°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 4PM is: 0.9m 12s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.6m 13s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00am May 13). An open ocean swell of 0.9m 4s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (13 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 14s |
| Afternoon (13 May) | 3ft (0.9m) | 12s |
| Evening (13 May) | 3ft (0.9m) | 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 23°C on Fri afternoon, min 12°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 13 | Thursday 14 | Friday 15 | Sat 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | |
163 | 161 | 210 | 210 | 206 | 189 | 388 | 326 | 603 | 530 | 429 | 560 | 387 | 436 | 601 | 433 | 433 | 383 | 641 | 472 | 651 | 731 | 1420 | 1365 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | off | off | glassy | glassy | |
High Tide | 7:45AM1.56m | 7:48PM2.10m | 8:45AM1.57m | 8:20PM2.26m | 9:43AM1.57m | 8:57PM2.38m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 1:20PM0.74m | 2:39AM0.40m | 1:57PM0.82m | 3:24AM0.18m | 2:36PM0.91m | 4:12AM0.01m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 |
 | — | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | — | 7:55 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 15 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 |
16 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 |
 kJ | 135 | 135 | 210 | 210 | 206 | 189 | 179 | 172 | 603 | 530 | 429 | 380 | 266 | 256 | 416 | 433 | 433 | 383 | 391 | 223 | 217 | 217 | 849 | 746 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 12 | S 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | WNW 18 | WNW 18 | NW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 163 | 161 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 101 | 225 | 265 | 298 | 295 | 291 | 284 | 38 | 8 | 256 | 252 | 249 | 242 | 236 | 31 | 30 | 69 | 156 | 218 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | WNW 14 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | S 12 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | NW 16 | NW 16 |
| kJ | 9 | 37 | 62 | 62 | 104 | 119 | 160 | 211 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 67 | 66 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | WNW 3 | WNW 4 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | — | — | — | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 |
| kJ | — | — | 4 | 25 | 93 | 164 | 388 | 326 | — | — | — | 560 | 387 | 436 | 601 | — | — | — | 641 | 472 | 651 | 731 | 1420 | 1365 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 39 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159 | 166 | 17 | 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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