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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 Sunday 24 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
14.4° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at El Capitan today?
The current surf forecast for El Capitan at 9PM is: 0.6m 14s primary swell from a South-southwest direction and 0.4m 18s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 04:00pm May 24). An open ocean swell of 0.4m 3s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (24 May) | - | - |
| Afternoon (24 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 15s |
| Evening (24 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 14s |
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 Mon afternoon, min 10°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (calm on Mon morning, fresh winds from the WNW by Tue afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 24 | Monday 25 | Tuesday 26 | Wed 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | NW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | NW 14 | WNW 14 | |
217 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 220 | 283 | 294 | 368 | 459 | 464 | 453 | 397 | 387 | 382 | 377 | 372 | 362 | 358 | 353 | 640 | 502 | 346 | 336 | 942 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 6:30PM1.88m | 6:25AM1.50m | 7:02PM1.96m | 7:35AM1.47m | 7:30PM2.03m | 8:35AM1.45m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:37AM0.56m | 00:53AM0.85m | 12:20PM0.70m | 1:46AM0.67m | 12:58PM0.82m | 2:29AM0.51m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | |  | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — |
 | — | — | 8:00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8:01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8:02 | — | — | — | — | 8:04 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 18 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 17 |
16 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | NW 14 | NW 14 | NW 14 | SSW 14 |
 kJ | 217 | 140 | 140 | 140 | 220 | 283 | 294 | 368 | 459 | 464 | 453 | 397 | 387 | 382 | 377 | 372 | 362 | 358 | 353 | 344 | 350 | 346 | 336 | 233 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | SSW 18 | WNW 16 | NW 9 | NW 9 | NW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | NW 17 | NW 16 | S 9 | S 9 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | S 10 |
| kJ | 38 | 38 | 133 | 102 | 22 | 22 | 106 | 142 | 140 | 125 | 118 | 116 | 114 | 111 | 108 | 98 | 43 | 89 | 6 | 2 | 239 | 233 | 233 | 2 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | SSW 19 | WNW 10 | SSW 18 | NW 16 | NW 15 | NW 9 | NW 9 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | — | — | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | — |
| kJ | 20 | 137 | 38 | 127 | 66 | 59 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WNW 10 | WNW 3 | WNW 10 | WNW 3 | WNW 3 | NW 3 | WNW 3 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | NW 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 14 |
| kJ | — | 33 | 2 | 83 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 40 | 42 | 44 | 44 | 35 | 38 | 36 | 109 | 197 | 329 | 640 | 502 | 336 | 287 | 942 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 326 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 326 | 326 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 93 | 1543 | 329 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 51 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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