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Imperial Beach Surf Forecast
/ CAL – San Diego County (71 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Imperial Beach surfForecast / CAL – San Diego County / USA
16 Day Weather and Surf, issued 10 am Sunday 17 May 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Imperial Beach surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Imperial Beach sea temperature is
17.7° C
(Which is 1.1°C warmer than normal for this time of year)Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Imperial Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Imperial Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (May 19) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 12s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Imperial Beach in the next 16 days are 2.0m 12s and forecast to arrive on Monday (May 18) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Tue 19th May) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Thu 21st May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 19s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Mon 18th May) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Imperial Beach over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Tue morning, min 15°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Wed afternoon, min 16°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 17 | Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wednesday 20 | Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
WNW 10 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 11 | WNW 11 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 19 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 18 | SW 14 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | |
563 | 1075 | 1009 | 847 | 555 | 330 | 154 | 114 | 119 | 157 | 147 | 236 | 150 | 176 | 134 | 249 | 128 | 191 | 299 | 302 | 299 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | |
High Tide | 10:56AM1.14m | 10:01PM2.02m | 11:53AM1.09m | 10:48PM1.96m | 12:56PM1.05m | 11:40PM1.84m | 2:05PM1.05m | 00:40AM1.67m | 3:18PM1.09m | 1:51AM1.48m | 4:24PM1.18m | 3:13AM1.32m | 5:17PM1.30m | 4:37AM1.19m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:37PM0.54m | 5:22AM-0.49m | 4:22PM0.62m | 6:16AM-0.42m | 5:14PM0.69m | 7:14AM-0.32m | 6:20PM0.76m | 8:15AM-0.19m | 7:46PM0.80m | 9:18AM-0.07m | 9:30PM0.77m | 10:18AM0.04m | 11:08PM0.63m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — |
 | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:43 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:45 | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
14 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | W 11 | WNW 11 | W 10 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | SW 15 | S 13 | SW 18 | SW 14 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
 kJ | 563 | 1075 | 1009 | 847 | 555 | 330 | 154 | 114 | 119 | 49 | 137 | 133 | 115 | 176 | 126 | 249 | 128 | 191 | 299 | 302 | 299 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | S 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 12 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 19 | S 14 | S 14 | SW 15 | S 13 | W 11 | S 12 | W 5 | S 12 | W 4 |
| kJ | 321 | 137 | 98 | 115 | 72 | 49 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 157 | 147 | 236 | 150 | 136 | 134 | 123 | 61 | 69 | 14 | 44 | 10 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 13 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 15 | SW 15 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | W 11 | S 12 | W 5 | S 12 | SW 21 | S 11 |
| kJ | 139 | 57 | 86 | 26 | 49 | 68 | 96 | 94 | 90 | 76 | 75 | 107 | 136 | 111 | 78 | 61 | 74 | 15 | 44 | 18 | 37 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 10 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 51 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 153 | 323 | 36 | 178 | 36 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 22 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 |
Best forecast wave conditions in San Diego County | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Imperial Beach surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Imperial Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Imperial Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Imperial Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Imperial Beach surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Imperial Beach) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Imperial Beach may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Imperial Beach is 2 km (1 miles) from the city of Imperial Beach. If you plan a vacation in San Diego County, look for hotels and other accommodation in Imperial Beach. Imperial Beach has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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