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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 Thursday 21 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
14.9° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 6PM is: 0.8m 12s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.5m 15s secondary swell from a Southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00am May 21). An open ocean swell of 0.6m 4s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (21 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (21 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 12s |
| Evening (21 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 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 24°C on Thu afternoon, min 11°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | Sun 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | WNW 11 | SSW 15 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | |
184 | 536 | 527 | 215 | 163 | 297 | 291 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 128 | 144 | 176 | 193 | 198 | 201 | 201 | 201 | 203 | 258 | 258 | 201 | 164 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | on | cross-on | cross | glassy | glassy | glassy | |
High Tide | 4:11PM1.58m | 2:20AM1.90m | 5:07PM1.68m | 3:41AM1.72m | 5:52PM1.78m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 8:53AM0.17m | 8:35PM1.28m | 9:53AM0.30m | 10:18PM1.20m | 10:48AM0.43m | 11:46PM1.04m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:52 |
 | — | — | — | 7:59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | 8:00 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 19 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 |
18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SW 14 | SW 18 | NW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 16 |
 kJ | 180 | 269 | 265 | 215 | 163 | 73 | 150 | 121 | 78 | 133 | 130 | 102 | 144 | 90 | 88 | 198 | 201 | 201 | 201 | 203 | 258 | 258 | 201 | 164 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 19 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | S 12 | S 13 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 14 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 15 | SW 16 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 |
| kJ | 184 | 107 | 107 | 107 | 107 | 47 | 50 | 152 | 152 | 152 | 72 | 48 | 47 | 176 | 193 | 88 | 67 | 65 | 56 | 56 | 59 | 67 | 65 | 56 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 17 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 18 | SW 18 | — | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 |
| kJ | 77 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 152 | 78 | — | 45 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | W 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 5 | WNW 4 | — | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | W 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 28 | 536 | 527 | 10 | 22 | 297 | 291 | 30 | 16 | — | 66 | 128 | 121 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 38 | 51 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 296 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 296 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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