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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 Tuesday 05 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
14.6° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 12AM is: 0.6m 15s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.7m 12s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00pm May 05). An open ocean swell of 1.0m 5s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be offshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (06 May) | - | - |
| Afternoon (06 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 13s |
| Evening (06 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 12s |
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 26°C on Thu afternoon, min 11°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tue 5 | Wednesday 6 | Thursday 7 | Fri 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | SSW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 14 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | |
215 | 212 | 513 | 150 | 193 | 196 | 196 | 193 | 142 | 133 | 133 | 134 | 134 | 99 | 154 | 147 | 131 | 129 | 89 | 246 | 246 | 209 | 157 | 147 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | cross-on | |
High Tide | 2:43PM1.35m | 11:58PM1.91m | 4:55PM1.36m | 00:38AM1.82m | 1:31AM1.72m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 5:17PM1.30m | 8:08AM0.47m | 5:18PM1.36m | 9:06AM0.51m | 10:03AM0.54m | |||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:03 | — | — |
 | — | 7:46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | — | — | — | 7:49 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 20 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 24 |
15 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 23 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | SSW 15 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 |
 kJ | 215 | 212 | 144 | 129 | 127 | 196 | 196 | 193 | 142 | 133 | 133 | 134 | 134 | 99 | 154 | 147 | 131 | 129 | 89 | 45 | 44 | 121 | 153 | 140 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSE 12 | SSW 15 | SW 16 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | NW 14 | WNW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 19 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 142 | 142 | 14 | 150 | 193 | 125 | 94 | 93 | 79 | 77 | 50 | 48 | 52 | 73 | 99 | 99 | 97 | 95 | 32 | 53 | 36 | 44 | 44 | 44 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SW 21 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | WNW 5 | W 5 | W 5 | SSE 11 | SW 19 | WNW 15 | WSW 19 | WNW 11 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SE 11 | SW 18 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SW 18 | SSW 19 | SW 18 | SW 17 |
| kJ | 28 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 59 | 42 | 37 | 49 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 37 | 12 | 45 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 12 | NW 5 | NW 4 | NW 4 | NW 5 | — | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 |
| kJ | 30 | 37 | 513 | 56 | 29 | 19 | 36 | — | 23 | 25 | 59 | 71 | 83 | 63 | 52 | 53 | 74 | 104 | 218 | 246 | 246 | 209 | 157 | 147 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 329 | 126 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 165 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
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Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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