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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 Saturday 30 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
14.3° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at El Capitan today (30 May):
- Morning surf: Morning surf (30 May, local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 14s period with WNW swell.
- Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (30 May, local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 13s period with WNW swell.
- Evening surf: Evening surf (30 May, local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 13s period with WNW swell.
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 5PM is: 1.9m 13s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.4m 13s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction, 0.4m 23s secondary swell from a Southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00am May 30). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (30 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 14s |
| Afternoon (30 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 13s |
| Evening (30 May) | 7ft (2.1m) | 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 27°C on Sat afternoon, min 14°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 30 | Sunday 31 | Monday 1 | Tue 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 19 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | |
321 | 229 | 222 | 1264 | 1497 | 1475 | 766 | 641 | 943 | 689 | 723 | 750 | 708 | 627 | 550 | 784 | 497 | 651 | 644 | 637 | 622 | 601 | 573 | 552 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | |
High Tide | 10:59AM1.46m | 9:24PM2.13m | 11:42AM1.45m | 9:57PM2.12m | 12:28PM1.43m | 10:32PM2.09m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 3:09PM1.15m | 4:54AM0.22m | 3:41PM1.19m | 5:32AM0.23m | 4:13PM1.22m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:48 |
 | — | — | — | — | 8:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8:06 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:07 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 17 | 24 | 27 | 24 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 13 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 22 | SSW 22 | SSW 22 | SSW 21 | WNW 10 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 20 | SSW 19 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 |
 kJ | 321 | 229 | 222 | 69 | 185 | 263 | 181 | 300 | 485 | 346 | 490 | 485 | 708 | 572 | 531 | 436 | 372 | 302 | 302 | 251 | 622 | 601 | 573 | 552 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 23 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 18 | WNW 12 | SSW 20 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | S 20 | SSW 12 | SW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSE 16 | NW 10 | SSE 15 | SSE 15 |
| kJ | 110 | 111 | 108 | 130 | 67 | 65 | 121 | 57 | 371 | 103 | 102 | 102 | 8 | 14 | 54 | 508 | 497 | 651 | 644 | 637 | 24 | 102 | 22 | 44 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 9 | SSW 19 | SSW 23 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 12 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | — | — | SSW 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSE 16 | SSE 16 | SSE 16 | S 19 | SSE 15 | WNW 10 | S 24 |
| kJ | 9 | 34 | 107 | 62 | 61 | 121 | 64 | 64 | 57 | 66 | 33 | 33 | — | — | 28 | 84 | 81 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 7 | 23 | 38 | 11 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | — | — | — | — | WNW 10 | WNW 5 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 |
| kJ | 82 | 85 | 131 | 1264 | 1497 | 1475 | 766 | 641 | 943 | 689 | 723 | 750 | 638 | 627 | 550 | 784 | — | — | — | — | 298 | 42 | 223 | 183 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 17 | 16 | 36 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165 | 326 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 331 | 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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Live Wind Speed (km/h)
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