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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 Thursday 14 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
15.3° C
(Which is 1.3°C warmer than normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 8PM is: 1.4m 11s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.8m 15s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction, 0.4m 12s secondary swell from a Southwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00pm May 14). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore and the swell rating is 3.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (14 May) | - | - |
| Afternoon (14 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 12s |
| Evening (14 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 11s |
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 23°C on Sat morning, min 11°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thu 14 | Friday 15 | Saturday 16 | Sun 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 13 | |
429 | 387 | 444 | 521 | 601 | 517 | 452 | 452 | 766 | 550 | 731 | 849 | 1186 | 1163 | 1186 | 1550 | 1676 | 2039 | 2222 | 2222 | 2305 | 2317 | 1991 | 1818 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | cross | cross-off | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | |
High Tide | 8:20PM2.26m | 9:43AM1.57m | 8:57PM2.38m | 10:42AM1.56m | 9:38PM2.45m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 1:57PM0.82m | 3:24AM0.18m | 2:36PM0.91m | 4:12AM0.01m | 3:17PM0.99m | 5:03AM-0.08m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — |
 | — | 7:53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:55 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 19 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 22 |
18 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 20 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
 kJ | 429 | 284 | 266 | 237 | 472 | 517 | 452 | 452 | 461 | 223 | 217 | 149 | 156 | 167 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 163 | 163 | 115 | 108 | 104 | 102 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | S 10 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | WNW 18 | WNW 18 | NW 16 | NW 16 | NW 16 | WNW 16 | S 10 | S 11 | S 11 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | S 18 | S 18 |
| kJ | 291 | 8 | 38 | 41 | 256 | 252 | 252 | 242 | 236 | 31 | 30 | 69 | 67 | 66 | 99 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 25 | 24 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 10 | S 18 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 10 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | S 15 | S 15 | S 15 | S 15 | S 15 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 |
| kJ | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 26 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | — | — | — | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 13 |
| kJ | — | 387 | 444 | 521 | 601 | — | — | — | 766 | 550 | 731 | 849 | 1186 | 1163 | 1186 | 1550 | 1676 | 2039 | 2222 | 2222 | 2305 | 2317 | 1991 | 1818 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 38 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 166 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 329 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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