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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 Monday 11 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 2AM is: 1.0m 12s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.7m 15s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 10:00pm May 11). An open ocean swell of 0.4m 3s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (12 May) | 4ft (1.2m) | 11s |
| Afternoon (12 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 15s |
| Evening (12 May) | 3ft (0.9m) | 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 21°C on Tue morning, min 11°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mon 11 | Tuesday 12 | Wednesday 13 | Thursday 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |   |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SW 16 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | |
251 | 256 | 256 | 239 | 346 | 242 | 242 | 221 | 186 | 183 | 173 | 168 | 163 | 161 | 210 | 278 | 206 | 189 | 339 | 351 | 298 | 295 | 512 | 571 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | on | on | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | off | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | |
High Tide | 6:41AM1.54m | 7:22PM1.94m | 7:45AM1.56m | 7:48PM2.10m | 8:45AM1.57m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 1:11AM0.92m | 12:45PM0.67m | 1:55AM0.66m | 1:20PM0.74m | 2:39AM0.40m | 1:57PM0.82m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | | |  | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:53 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 21 | 21 |
15 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 19 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 |
 kJ | 242 | 256 | 256 | 239 | 234 | 217 | 221 | 221 | 180 | 176 | 173 | 135 | 135 | 135 | 210 | 278 | 206 | 189 | 217 | 172 | 176 | 146 | 512 | 373 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 251 | 199 | 191 | 188 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 188 | 186 | 183 | 133 | 168 | 163 | 161 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 101 | 183 | 306 | 246 | 242 | 291 | 284 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 | S 14 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 | S 11 | WNW 14 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 11 | 26 | 35 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 9 | 37 | 62 | 62 | 104 | 119 | 160 | 211 | 298 | 295 | 10 | 10 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 2 | WNW 3 | WNW 3 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | W 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | — | — | — | WNW 11 |
| kJ | 1 | 1 | 3 | 109 | 346 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 104 | 153 | 339 | 351 | — | — | — | 571 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 326 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 166 | 166 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 329 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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