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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 4 am Wednesday 20 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 slightly warmer than usual)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 Thursday (May 21) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 19s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 13s. 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 1.0m 17s and forecast to arrive on Monday (May 25) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Thu 21st May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 19s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Thu 21st May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 19s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Mon 25th May) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 17s |
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. Warm (max 22°C on Wed morning, min 17°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sat afternoon, min 15°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 20 | Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | Sunday 24 | Monday 25 | Tuesday 26 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 19 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 18 | SW 14 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | |
157 | 147 | 236 | 150 | 176 | 134 | 249 | 132 | 284 | 299 | 302 | 299 | 255 | 214 | 377 | 481 | 601 | 451 | 461 | 474 | 367 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
on | on | cross | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | on | |
High Tide | 2:05PM1.05m | 00:40AM1.67m | 3:18PM1.09m | 1:51AM1.48m | 4:24PM1.18m | 3:13AM1.32m | 5:17PM1.30m | 4:37AM1.19m | 6:00PM1.43m | 5:54AM1.12m | 6:36PM1.54m | 6:59AM1.09m | 7:08PM1.62m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:20PM0.76m | 8:15AM-0.19m | 7:46PM0.80m | 9:18AM-0.07m | 9:30PM0.77m | 10:18AM0.04m | 11:08PM0.63m | 11:11AM0.14m | 00:21AM0.44m | 11:56AM0.25m | 1:16AM0.26m | 12:34PM0.35m | 2:01AM0.10m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  |  | |  | |
 | 5:47 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — |
 | — | 7:43 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:46 | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
21 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | S 14 | SW 15 | S 13 | SW 18 | SW 14 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 17 | SSW 17 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 |
 kJ | 75 | 139 | 176 | 150 | 176 | 126 | 249 | 132 | 284 | 299 | 302 | 299 | 255 | 214 | 377 | 481 | 601 | 451 | 461 | 474 | 367 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 19 | SW 15 | S 14 | SW 15 | S 13 | S 12 | WNW 11 | W 10 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | SW 19 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | NW 13 | WNW 12 |
| kJ | 157 | 147 | 236 | 136 | 136 | 134 | 87 | 74 | 66 | 53 | 43 | 37 | 20 | 175 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 25 | 42 | 28 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 14 | S 12 | SW 15 | W 6 | WNW 12 | W 5 | SW 14 | SW 18 | S 12 | S 12 | SW 21 | SSW 20 | SW 20 | S 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 15 | WNW 14 | NW 13 | S 9 | S 9 |
| kJ | 81 | 75 | 139 | 15 | 56 | 12 | 97 | 111 | 71 | 44 | 18 | 38 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 21 | 18 | 44 | 6 | 6 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | WNW 6 | — | — | WNW 11 | — | — | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 4 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | — | — | WNW 6 | W 5 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | 91 | — | — | 57 | 56 | 57 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 20 | — | — | 25 | 36 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 13 | 13 | 32 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 294 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 179 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 656 | 101 |
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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