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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 am Sunday 26 Apr 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
15.2° C
(Which is 1.6°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 5PM is: 0.5m 16s primary swell from a West-northwest direction and 0.4m 12s secondary swell from a South direction, 0.8m 5s secondary swell from a West direction (forecast issued at 10:00am April 26). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (26 Apr) | 2ft (0.6m) | 16s |
| Afternoon (26 Apr) | 1.5ft (0.4m) | 16s |
| Evening (26 Apr) | 1.5ft (0.4m) | 15s |
Table - waves today at El Capitan. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Mon afternoon, min 10°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wed 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 AM | 5 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | NW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 16 | WNW 12 | |
191 | 198 | 86 | 142 | 92 | 123 | 163 | 163 | 183 | 180 | 118 | 85 | 114 | 114 | 96 | 95 | 89 | 85 | 57 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 64 | 54 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | off | glassy | |
High Tide | 6:40AM1.74m | 7:50PM1.88m | 7:40AM1.71m | 8:16PM1.96m | 8:33AM1.68m | 8:41PM2.03m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 1:13PM0.46m | 1:55AM0.79m | 1:49PM0.56m | 2:38AM0.62m | 2:20PM0.67m | 3:17AM0.48m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6:11 |
 | — | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | — | 7:42 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 13 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 14 | WNW 16 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | NW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 5 | W 5 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 |
 kJ | 191 | 198 | 63 | 142 | 92 | 123 | 163 | 163 | 183 | 180 | 118 | 85 | 114 | 114 | 96 | 95 | 89 | 17 | 14 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 54 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 4 | S 12 | WNW 16 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 | W 5 | S 13 | S 13 | W 13 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 12 | S 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 9 | 46 | 86 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 51 | 11 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 42 | 44 | 85 | 57 | 25 | 25 | 40 | 64 | 39 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | WSW 12 | S 12 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | S 13 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 12 | S 12 | S 11 |
| kJ | 46 | 15 | 45 | 34 | 58 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 9 | 21 | 21 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 44 | 44 | 41 | 41 | 25 | 25 | 23 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 4 | W 4 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | W 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | NW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | — | WNW 6 | W 5 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 |
| kJ | — | 9 | 14 | 27 | 21 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 31 | 26 | 18 | 23 | — | 27 | 14 | 30 | 28 | 22 | 28 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 9 | 329 | 1584 | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1550 | 326 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 328 | 38 | 329 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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