El Capitan surfForecast / CAL – Santa Barbara / USA

information circle48hr Weather and Surf, issued 4 pm Tuesday 05 May 2026 PDT
Forecast 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
14.6° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)

How big are the waves at El Capitan today?

The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 12AM is: 0.6m 15s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.7m 12s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00pm May 05). An open ocean swell of 1.0m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be offshore.

Time (PDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (06 May)--
Afternoon (06 May)2.5ft (0.8m)13s
Evening (06 May)4.5ft (1.3m)12s

Table - waves today at El Capitan. (Swell directed towards the surf break)


Updates in  hr  min  s Forecast update imminent

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Thu afternoon, min 11°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.

Tue
5
Wednesday
6
Thursday
7
Fri
8
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
8 AM
11 AM
Rating
(10 max)
1
0
2
2
2
2
2
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
1
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
1
Swell
Height Map
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span>
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span>
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span>
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span><span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.components.forecast-table.maps.snow_map">Snow Map</span>
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.8
WNW
13
0.8
WNW
13
1.3
WNW
12
0.6
SSW
15
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SSW
15
0.6
SSW
14
0.6
SSW
14
0.6
SSW
14
0.6
SSW
14
0.5
SW
14
0.7
WNW
13
0.7
WNW
13
0.7
WNW
12
0.7
WNW
12
0.5
SW
14
1.8
WNW
6
1.8
WNW
6
1.5
WNW
7
0.8
WNW
12
0.8
WNW
11
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
215
212
513
150
193
196
196
193
142
133
133
134
134
99
154
147
131
129
89
246
246
209
157
147
Wind (km/h)
25
WNW
30
WNW
20
NW
15
NNW
10
NNW
10
N
0
ENE
10
SSW
10
SSW
15
W
15
NW
15
NNW
10
NNW
5
N
5
NW
10
SW
10
WSW
10
WNW
15
NNW
10
NNW
10
NNW
5
N
0
WNW
10
WSW
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
off
off
off
glassy
on
cross-on
cross
cross-off
cross-off
off
glassy
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross-off
cross-off
off
glassy
glassy
cross-on
High Tide
2:43PM1.35m
11:58PM1.91m
4:55PM1.36m
00:38AM1.82m
1:31AM1.72m
Low Tide
5:17PM1.30m
8:08AM0.47m
5:18PM1.36m
9:06AM0.51m
10:03AM0.54m
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:05
6:03
6:03
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
7:46
7:47
7:49
7:49
Temp °C
20
19
14
11
12
12
15
20
20
22
16
13
14
15
18
23
25
26
17
15
15
15
18
24
15
13
10
8
10
10
14
18
18
20
14
11
13
14
18
22
24
25
15
13
14
15
18
23
Swell 1
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.8
WNW
13
0.8
WNW
13
0.6
SSW
15
0.7
WNW
12
0.7
WNW
12
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SW
16
0.6
SSW
15
0.6
SSW
14
0.6
SSW
14
0.6
SSW
14
0.6
SSW
14
0.5
SW
14
0.7
WNW
13
0.7
WNW
13
0.7
WNW
12
0.7
WNW
12
0.5
SW
14
0.4
SW
13
0.4
SW
13
0.7
WNW
12
0.8
WNW
12
0.8
WNW
11
Energy kJ
215
212
144
129
127
196
196
193
142
133
133
134
134
99
154
147
131
129
89
45
44
121
153
140
Swell 2
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.6
SSW
15
0.6
SSW
15
0.2
SSE
12
0.6
SSW
15
0.6
SW
16
0.7
WNW
12
0.6
WNW
12
0.6
WNW
12
0.5
WNW
12
0.5
WNW
12
0.4
WNW
11
0.4
WNW
11
0.4
NW
14
0.4
WNW
14
0.5
SW
14
0.5
SW
14
0.5
SW
14
0.5
SW
14
0.2
SSW
18
0.3
SW
18
0.2
SSW
19
0.4
SW
13
0.4
SW
13
0.4
SW
13
Energy kJ
142
142
14
150
193
125
94
93
79
77
50
48
52
73
99
99
97
95
32
53
36
44
44
44
Swell 3
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.3
SSE
12
0.2
SSE
12
0.1
SW
21
0.2
SSE
11
0.2
SSE
11
0.2
SSE
11
0.6
WNW
5
0.5
W
5
0.5
W
5
0.2
SSE
11
0.3
SW
19
0.3
WNW
15
0.2
WSW
19
0.4
WNW
11
0.1
SW
20
0.1
SW
19
0.1
SE
11
0.1
SW
18
0.1
SE
10
0.1
SE
10
0.1
SW
18
0.2
SSW
19
0.1
SW
18
0.3
SW
17
Energy kJ
28
14
18
13
12
12
15
13
13
12
59
42
37
49
15
15
4
13
4
4
12
37
12
45
Wind waves
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.9
WNW
4
1
WNW
4
1.3
WNW
12
1.1
NW
5
0.9
NW
4
0.7
NW
4
0.9
NW
5
0.7
WNW
5
0.7
WNW
5
1.1
WNW
5
1.1
WNW
5
1.3
WNW
5
1
WNW
6
0.9
WNW
6
0.9
WNW
6
1
WNW
6
1.3
WNW
6
1.8
WNW
6
1.8
WNW
6
1.8
WNW
6
1.5
WNW
7
1.2
WNW
7
1.2
WNW
7
Energy kJ
30
37
513
56
29
19
36
23
25
59
71
83
63
52
53
74
104
218
246
246
209
157
147
Nearest Offshore or Glassy
Rating
(10 max)
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
Distance (km)
329
126
17
0
0
0
0
38
165
9
0
0
0
0
0
165
17
9
3
0
0
0
0
166
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara
Rating
(10 max)
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
Best forecast wave conditions in United States
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
3
2
3
3
2
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
1
1
4
4
4
4
4
Header Global
Rating
(10 max)
5
5
5
7
9
9
6
6
4
7
6
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
6
7
8
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our El Capitan surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest
Nearest locationNearest