
Surf Forecasts:
How big are the waves at El Capitan today (16 Sep):
- Morning surf: Morning surf (16 Sep, local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period with SW swell.
- Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (16 Sep, local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 17s period with SSW swell.
- Evening surf: Evening surf (16 Sep, local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 16s period with SSW swell.
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 10AM is: 0.6m 17s primary swell from a South-southwest direction and 0.6m 8s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00am September 16). The wind direction is predicted to be onshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (16 Sep) | 1.5ft (0.5m) | 16s |
| Afternoon (16 Sep) | 2ft (0.6m) | 17s |
| Evening (16 Sep) | 2ft (0.6m) | 16s |
Table - waves today at El Capitan. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Fri afternoon, min 14°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 8 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 |
Wave Graph | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
162 | 119 | 124 | 264 | 200 | 188 | 173 | 169 | 223 | 223 | 223 | 217 | 150 | 144 | 142 | 188 | 188 | 239 | 236 | 236 | 236 | 236 | 184 | 184 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | glassy | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 2:25AM1.29m | 1:10PM1.84m | 5:07AM1.24m | 2:00PM1.76m | 3:17PM1.71m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 6:22AM1.13m | 9:10PM0.65m | 6:04AM1.24m | 10:40PM0.66m | ||||||||||||||||||||
— | 6:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
— | — | — | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:04 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:02 | — | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 19 | 17 |
Feels °C | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 17 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SSW 13 |
96 | 75 | 75 | 50 | 49 | 188 | 173 | 169 | 223 | 223 | 223 | 217 | 150 | 144 | 142 | 188 | 188 | 165 | 120 | 236 | 236 | 236 | 184 | 101 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | NW 8 | NW 8 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 21 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 19 |
88 | 119 | 124 | 264 | 200 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 71 | 116 | 71 | 72 | 117 | 117 | 115 | 140 | 239 | 236 | 118 | 110 | 102 | 101 | 184 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 19 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 13 | S 13 | SSE 9 | SW 20 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSE 9 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 |
73 | 69 | 64 | 8 | 16 | 31 | 31 | 16 | 65 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 16 | 37 | 21 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 20 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 8 | — | WNW 8 | — | NW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 |
162 | — | 37 | — | 95 | 48 | 67 | 9 | 10 | 54 | 39 | 37 | 31 | 26 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 27 | 17 | 22 | 37 | 56 | 61 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 166 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 433 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)












