Surf Forecasts:
Indicator surf forecast from 21 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 25 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 16s period, SW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 26 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 7s period, WNW swell with 186 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 23 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 19s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Indicator this week:
The surf forecast for Indicator over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.3m and 19s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Indicator in the next 16 days are 1.4m 7s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 14s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 1ft (0.3m) 19s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Tue 25th Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Wed 26th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Indicator over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on offer for the next couple of weeks. Gotta be honest with you, looking at the charts, it's a pretty grim stretch for this reef and point set-up. We've got a real slow period ahead with very little to get excited about.
The first spot of any interest showing up is on Thursday, September 3rd. The morning session is the only window where we might see something surfable, with a 3ft swell from the West, but it's just ordinary. The wind is offshore from the SE at 6 mph, which will keep it clean, but the wave energy is weak at 116 and the period is short, just 7 seconds, so it's going to be weak and wonky. The best bet is really just to wait for this to pass.
Before that, and for the first week and a half, we're looking at a long stretch of virtually nothing. From August 20th all the way through September 2nd, the surf is flat to tiny. There's a day or two where the combined energy creeps into the hundreds (like 159 on the 23rd), but the swell height is only 1ft, so it's all just a tease. The wind is mostly cross-on or cross, making it choppy and messy. It's a blank run, which happens here.
For this location, the water temperature is a notable 70°F, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year. That's a bit different, but it won't help the waves.
Alright, let's be real. If you're desperate, the Thursday morning (September 3rd) is the only thing that's even surfable, but it's a poor option. The wind is clean, but the swell is weak and short period. Later, on September 4th, Friday morning, we see a 3ft swell from the West with a light cross-off shore from the SSW, but the energy is only 76. Again, not worth a paddle.
The only true standout, if you can call it that, is that Thursday morning (September 3rd), and even then, it's a "one out of ten" kind of day. The rest of the time, the swell is too small, the wind is onshore, or the period is so short the waves will be crumbly and weak. This is a patch of the year where the consistent surf just isn't showing up. Keep your eye on the forecasts, it can't stay this flat forever.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Fri morning, min 19°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Tue night, min 22°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 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 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 19 | W 6 | W 6 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 | W 6 | W 6 | W 7 | W 6 | W 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 56 | 14 | 15 | 50 | 49 | 47 | 50 | 50 | 58 | 127 | 112 | 112 | 111 | 100 | 135 | 132 | 91 | 132 | 85 | 59 | 97 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | off |
High Tide | 3:57PM1.81m | 8:34AM1.36m | 5:14PM1.84m | 8:37AM1.43m | 6:15PM1.92m | 8:52AM1.49m | 7:02PM2.01m | 9:08AM1.54m | 7:41PM2.10m | 9:26AM1.60m | 8:17PM2.17m | 9:45AM1.66m | 8:52PM2.19m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 00:27AM0.64m | 10:14AM1.35m | 1:18AM0.53m | 12:01PM1.32m | 1:56AM0.42m | 12:56PM1.25m | 2:27AM0.34m | 1:37PM1.16m | 2:55AM0.27m | 2:12PM1.06m | 3:21AM0.24m | 2:47PM0.96m | 3:45AM0.25m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — |
 | — | 7:34 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:27 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 26 |
Feels °C | 21 | 23 | 22 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 23 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 6 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | W 5 | SSW 13 | W 6 | W 6 | SSW 12 | W 6 | W 6 | SSW 13 | W 6 | W 6 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 13 | W 7 | S 13 | W 6 |
| kJ | 24 | 120 | 115 | 9 | 68 | 25 | 24 | 31 | 48 | 32 | 57 | 32 | 42 | 100 | 135 | 132 | 91 | 78 | 85 | 165 | 97 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | W 6 | W 6 | SSW 13 | SW 18 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SW 18 | S 14 | S 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 16 | S 14 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 |
| kJ | 118 | 9 | 15 | 69 | 49 | 68 | 42 | 42 | 120 | 58 | 112 | 103 | 106 | 29 | 57 | 57 | 58 | 89 | 146 | 164 | 188 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 19 | SW 19 | W 12 | SW 18 | S 16 | SW 17 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 19 | SW 19 | S 16 | SW 18 | SW 18 | S 14 | S 10 | W 18 | W 17 | S 16 | S 12 | W 14 | S 12 |
| kJ | 56 | 14 | 3 | 50 | 21 | 47 | 50 | 50 | 58 | 127 | 20 | 112 | 111 | 37 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 43 | 67 | 15 | 136 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | W 5 | — | — | W 6 | — | — | W 6 | W 6 | — | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | — | W 6 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | 22 | — | — | 21 | 74 | — | 39 | 73 | 78 | 78 | 132 | — | 59 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 2 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 62 | 41 | 0 | 148 | 117 | 0 | 62 | 117 | 3 | 72 | 166 | 9 | 2 | 62 | 1 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Los Angeles County | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Indicator 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 Indicator Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Indicator provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Indicator can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Indicator 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 (Indicator) 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 Indicator 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.
Indicator is 5 km (3 miles) from the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. If you plan a vacation in Los Angeles County, look for hotels and other accommodation in Rancho Palos Verdes. Rancho Palos Verdes has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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