El Capitan Surf Break

Lat Long: 34.46° N 120.02° W

El Capitan 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Issued: 4 am 18 Sep 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's El Capitan sea temperature is
21.5°C
4.3° 

El Capitan surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


How big are the waves at El Capitan today (18 Sep):

  • Morning surf: Morning surf (18 Sep, local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 19s period with SW swell.
  • Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (18 Sep, local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 19s period with SW swell.
  • Evening surf: Evening surf (18 Sep, local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 19s period with SW swell.

The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 9AM is: 0.6m 19s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.5m 14s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00am September 18). An open ocean swell of 0.8m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.

Time (PDT) & DateWave HeightWave Period
Morning (18 Sep)2ft (0.6m)19s
Afternoon (18 Sep)2ft (0.6m)19s
Evening (18 Sep)1.5ft (0.5m)19s

Table - waves today at El Capitan. (Swell directed towards the surf break)


Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Warm (max 28°C on Sat afternoon, min 16°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.

Friday
18
Saturday
19
Sunday
20
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
8 PM
11 PM
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
1
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
0
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
2
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.7
SSW
15
0.6
SW
20
0.6
SW
19
0.6
SW
19
0.6
SW
19
0.6
SW
19
0.5
SW
19
0.5
SW
19
0.5
SW
19
0.6
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.7
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.6
SW
18
0.7
SW
18
0.8
SW
18
0.8
SW
18
0.8
SW
18
0.8
SW
18
0.8
SW
17
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
188
239
236
236
236
236
184
184
179
203
255
252
252
307
252
252
255
255
307
375
379
370
366
362
Wind (km/h)
10
NNW
10
NNW
5
NNW
10
WSW
15
WSW
15
WNW
15
NNW
10
NNW
10
N
5
N
0
NNE
10
SW
10
WSW
10
W
10
NNW
10
NNW
5
N
5
NNW
5
N
5
SSW
10
SW
5
SW
5
NNW
5
NNW
Wind State
cross-off
off
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
cross-off
off
off
off
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross
off
off
glassy
glassy
glassy
on
cross-on
cross-on
off
glassy
High Tide
3:17PM1.71m
8:18AM1.41m
4:47PM1.71m
8:19AM1.46m
5:57PM1.77m
Low Tide
11:58PM0.60m
10:40AM1.39m
00:52AM0.53m
12:13PM1.32m
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:45
6:45
6:46
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
7:02
7:00
7:00
 mm
Temp °C
14
15
18
24
26
26
18
17
17
18
20
26
28
27
20
18
18
18
19
24
25
25
20
18
Feels °C
13
14
18
24
24
24
16
16
16
17
19
25
26
26
19
17
18
18
19
24
25
25
20
19
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our El Capitan surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


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