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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 Wednesday 13 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
15.3° C
(Which is 1.3°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 2AM is: 0.5m 17s primary swell from a South-southwest direction and 0.8m 11s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 0.5m 13s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction, 1.1m 8s secondary swell from a West-northwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00pm May 13). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (14 May) | 5ft (1.5m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (14 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 12s |
| Evening (14 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 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 Sat morning, min 12°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wed 13 | Thursday 14 | Friday 15 | Saturday 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | |
206 | 189 | 160 | 269 | 603 | 530 | 429 | 560 | 444 | 496 | 601 | 517 | 497 | 442 | 766 | 716 | 832 | 849 | 1186 | 1040 | 980 | 1210 | 1833 | 1797 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
off | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 8:45AM1.57m | 8:20PM2.26m | 9:43AM1.57m | 8:57PM2.38m | 10:42AM1.56m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 2:39AM0.40m | 1:57PM0.82m | 3:24AM0.18m | 2:36PM0.91m | 4:12AM0.01m | 3:17PM0.99m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:55 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 24 | 23 | 20 |
15 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 17 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 |
 kJ | 206 | 189 | 145 | 138 | 603 | 530 | 429 | 387 | 266 | 256 | 442 | 517 | 497 | 442 | 472 | 223 | 217 | 198 | 154 | 222 | 165 | 165 | 165 | 165 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SW 12 | S 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | WNW 18 | WNW 18 | NW 16 | NW 16 | NW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 | S 10 | S 11 |
| kJ | 120 | 118 | 101 | 269 | 298 | 295 | 291 | 284 | 38 | 8 | 256 | 252 | 252 | 242 | 236 | 31 | 30 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 95 | 144 | 2 | 2 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | S 12 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 11 | S 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | S 15 | S 15 | S 10 | S 15 | S 15 |
| kJ | 104 | 119 | 160 | 211 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 25 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | — | — | — | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 |
| kJ | 71 | 125 | 142 | 224 | — | — | — | 560 | 444 | 496 | 601 | — | — | — | 766 | 716 | 832 | 849 | 1186 | 1040 | 980 | 1210 | 1833 | 1797 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 166 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159 | 166 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 331 | 17 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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