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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 pm Thursday 30 Apr 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
14.8° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 5AM is: 1.7m 8s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 1.2m 8s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 0.6m 13s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00pm April 30). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (01 May) | 3.5ft (1.0m) | 8s |
| Afternoon (01 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 8s |
| Evening (01 May) | 4ft (1.2m) | 13s |
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 22°C on Fri afternoon, min 12°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thu 30 | Friday 1 | Saturday 2 | Sunday 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 PM | 5 PM | |
Swell Height Map |   |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
NW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 13 | WNW 8 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | NW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | |
97 | 121 | 220 | 339 | 127 | 114 | 187 | 361 | 454 | 469 | 395 | 122 | 103 | 101 | 274 | 274 | 127 | 347 | 294 | 143 | 93 | 90 | 183 | 123 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | on | cross-on | glassy | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | |
High Tide | 9:28PM2.11m | 10:52AM1.55m | 9:53PM2.11m | 11:38AM1.50m | 10:20PM2.09m | 12:28PM1.44m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 4:29AM0.30m | 3:42PM1.00m | 5:05AM0.27m | 4:08PM1.09m | 5:44AM0.29m | 4:33PM1.17m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | |  | | | | | | | | |  | | |  | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | WNW 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | WNW 12 | WNW 7 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 16 | WNW 11 |
 kJ | 97 | 121 | 118 | 163 | 127 | 102 | 83 | 17 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 104 | 96 | 101 | 274 | 274 | 127 | 51 | 294 | 59 | 93 | 90 | 62 | 109 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | SSW 18 | SW 14 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | S 11 | SSW 16 | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | NW 18 | WNW 18 |
| kJ | 32 | 30 | 29 | 116 | 114 | 114 | 111 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 31 | 30 | 103 | 99 | 31 | 30 | 51 | 9 | 51 | 94 | 51 | 51 | 82 | 123 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | S 13 | S 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SW 14 | S 11 | S 9 | SW 12 | S 11 | WSW 13 | S 11 | SSW 16 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 15 |
| kJ | 14 | 14 | 12 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 21 | 50 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 84 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | — | — | WNW 8 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | NW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | NW 8 | NW 8 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 11 | W 3 |
| kJ | 197 | 183 | 220 | 339 | — | — | 187 | 361 | 454 | 469 | 395 | 122 | — | — | — | 174 | 92 | 347 | 147 | 143 | 46 | 36 | 183 | 6 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 186 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 329 | 328 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 51 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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