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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 pm Saturday 02 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 6AM is: 0.8m 12s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.3m 16s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00pm May 02). An open ocean swell of 0.4m 4s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be glassy.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (03 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (03 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 11s |
| Evening (03 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 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 10°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sat 2 | Sunday 3 | Monday 4 | Tuesday 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 PM | 5 PM | |
Swell Height Map |   |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 12 | NW 12 | NW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | NW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | |
184 | 144 | 144 | 180 | 158 | 153 | 145 | 140 | 135 | 104 | 173 | 226 | 248 | 339 | 330 | 362 | 362 | 357 | 294 | 222 | 219 | 215 | 596 | 212 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | |
High Tide | 10:20PM2.09m | 12:28PM1.44m | 10:50PM2.05m | 1:26PM1.38m | 11:22PM1.98m | 2:43PM1.35m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 5:44AM0.29m | 4:33PM1.17m | 6:26AM0.34m | 4:57PM1.24m | 7:14AM0.40m | |||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:46 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 18 |
14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 13 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | NW 12 | NW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 16 | WNW 18 | WNW 18 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 16 | NW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | SSW 15 | WNW 13 |
 kJ | 184 | 144 | 144 | 180 | 158 | 153 | 61 | 123 | 121 | 103 | 103 | 226 | 248 | 339 | 330 | 362 | 362 | 357 | 294 | 222 | 219 | 215 | 142 | 212 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | NW 18 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | SW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 16 | SW 17 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSE 12 | SSW 15 |
| kJ | 51 | 51 | 51 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 104 | 173 | 101 | 75 | 166 | 71 | 66 | 71 | 69 | 173 | 143 | 73 | 138 | 28 | 142 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSE 13 | SW 16 | SSW 13 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 21 | SSE 12 |
| kJ | 9 | 9 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 17 | 66 | 70 | 66 | 66 | 34 | 68 | 148 | 77 | 18 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 3 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | — | WNW 7 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | W 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NW 3 | WNW 3 | NW 4 | NW 4 | NW 4 | WNW 13 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | 6 | 11 | 7 | 5 | — | 35 | 145 | 140 | 135 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 7 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 596 | 52 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 39 | 16 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 59 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 329 | 329 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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