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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 Friday 24 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
15.8° C
(Which is 2.2°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 5PM is: 0.5m 14s primary swell from a South direction and 0.5m 13s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00am April 24). An open ocean swell of 1.3m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (24 Apr) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 7s |
| Afternoon (24 Apr) | 4ft (1.2m) | 6s |
| Evening (24 Apr) | 1.5ft (0.5m) | 13s |
Table - waves today at El Capitan. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 21°C on Fri afternoon, min 9°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Mon 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 7 | S 14 | WNW 7 | S 14 | S 13 | W 16 | W 16 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | W 15 | W 15 | W 15 | W 15 | W 15 | W 15 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | |
218 | 153 | 107 | 103 | 92 | 129 | 129 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 110 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 191 | 198 | 86 | 142 | 92 | 123 | 183 | 163 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | |
High Tide | 6:47PM1.67m | 5:28AM1.78m | 7:21PM1.78m | 6:40AM1.74m | 7:50PM1.88m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:38AM0.34m | 11:57PM1.17m | 12:30PM0.39m | 1:04AM0.98m | 1:13PM0.46m | 1:55AM0.79m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | |  | | | |  | | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:13 |
 | — | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | — | 7:40 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 15 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
13 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | S 14 | S 14 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | W 15 | W 15 | W 15 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 14 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 |
 kJ | 132 | 153 | 107 | 103 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 191 | 198 | 63 | 142 | 92 | 123 | 183 | 163 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 15 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | W 16 | W 16 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | W 15 | W 15 | W 15 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | WNW 16 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 |
| kJ | 155 | 96 | 93 | 90 | 57 | 129 | 129 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 110 | 109 | 109 | 74 | 46 | 46 | 46 | 46 | 86 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 51 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 13 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | NW 12 | NW 12 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 | NW 11 | NW 11 | NW 11 | NW 11 | NW 11 | NW 11 | SW 13 | WSW 12 | S 12 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 |
| kJ | 99 | 53 | 52 | 51 | 50 | 37 | 36 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 18 | 18 | 25 | 15 | 45 | 34 | 58 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 4 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | W 4 | W 4 | W 4 | W 4 | W 5 | W 5 | W 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 4 |
| kJ | 218 | 84 | 102 | 95 | 83 | 66 | 48 | 37 | 43 | 31 | 20 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 31 | 32 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 17 | 17 | 51 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 329 | 893 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 893 | 329 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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