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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 pm Sunday 10 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
14.4° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 10PM is: 0.8m 16s primary swell from a South-southwest direction and 0.9m 8s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 0.8m 11s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 1.3m 8s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00pm May 10). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 3.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (10 May) | - | - |
| Afternoon (10 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 18s |
| Evening (10 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 17s |
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 24°C on Mon morning, min 12°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 10 | Monday 11 | Tuesday 12 | Wed 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | WNW 10 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | |
273 | 348 | 381 | 298 | 285 | 291 | 291 | 326 | 402 | 322 | 251 | 237 | 233 | 221 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 188 | 186 | 183 | 175 | 168 | 163 | 161 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
on | on | glassy | cross | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | on | on | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | on | on | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross | cross-on | on | |
High Tide | 6:44PM1.66m | 5:31AM1.55m | 7:00PM1.79m | 6:41AM1.54m | 7:22PM1.94m | 7:45AM1.56m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:33AM0.58m | 00:23AM1.14m | 12:10PM0.61m | 1:11AM0.92m | 12:45PM0.67m | 1:55AM0.66m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:58 | — | — |
 | — | 7:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:52 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 23 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
22 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 |
 kJ | 151 | 185 | 153 | 113 | 285 | 227 | 223 | 209 | 195 | 225 | 237 | 237 | 233 | 221 | 217 | 217 | 221 | 180 | 180 | 176 | 173 | 135 | 135 | 135 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 273 | 348 | 381 | 138 | 226 | 291 | 291 | 326 | 402 | 322 | 251 | 199 | 191 | 188 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 188 | 186 | 183 | 175 | 168 | 163 | 161 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 | S 11 | SSW 18 |
| kJ | 136 | 169 | 143 | 298 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 26 | 11 | 35 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 9 | 65 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 8 | — | WNW 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 237 | — | 232 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 326 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 166 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 59 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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