Surf Forecasts:
Indicator surf forecast from 6 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 6 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 13s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 11 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 18s period, SW swell with 154 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 6 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 13s 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 Thursday (Aug 06) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 4s. 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 0.5m 18s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 11) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 16s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 08) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Thu 6th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Thu 6th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Tue 11th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Indicator over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here again. Let’s break it down.
This stretch is in a real flat spell to start. From Wednesday the 5th through Monday the 10th, there’s basically nothing worth paddling out for. Waves are tiny – around 1 to 2 ft – with short periods and very weak energy (as low as 3 for combined energy). Winds are mostly onshore or cross-shore, and it’s choppy or just too small. Don’t bother.
Things perk up just a little on Tuesday the 11th of August. Morning is still tiny (1 ft) but the afternoon picks up to 2 ft from the SW with an 18-second period – that’s real groundswell character, long lines but still small. Combined energy hits 154 (moderate), winds are cross-offshore from the SW, keeping it clean. It’s surfable, but nothing special.
Wednesday the 12th is similar – morning has 2 ft from the SW, 17-second period, 170 energy, with light SSW winds and clean conditions. Again, just ordinary. The afternoon gets onshore and choppy.
The one true standout in this whole outlook is the Sunday morning of the 16th of August. Glassy conditions, light SW winds, and the swell edges up to 2 ft from the west. Period is short at 5 seconds, so it’s weak windswell, but combined energy is 40 – just a little push. It’s clean, it’s glassy, and that’s as good as it gets here right now. The break is a reef and point setup (Indicator), fairly consistent, intermediate difficulty, and optimum swell direction is NW, which isn’t a perfect match for the westerly swell, but with glassy wind you take it. Crowds are possible here sometimes.
Water temp on Wednesday the 5th is 73° – that’s 7° warmer than average for this time of year, which is very unusual.
After that Sunday morning, Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th have some clean morning windows with 3 ft from the west and light offshore or glassy winds, but still pretty small with not much energy (50 – 61). Thursday the 20th fades into choppy onshore junk.
Bottom line – if you’re a paddle surfer, Sunday the 16th morning and maybe Tuesday the 18th morning are your shots. The rest is so small and weak it might be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Fri afternoon, min 19°C on Wed afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Sat afternoon, min 21°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Wed 5 | Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | Tuesday 11 | ||||||||||||||
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 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 13 | W 4 | W 4 | W 4 | WSW 4 | SW 11 | W 4 | SW 11 | W 5 | W 5 | W 5 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 70 | 69 | 62 | 61 | 60 | 53 | 59 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 52 | 154 | 152 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | glassy |
High Tide | 2:41PM1.96m | 4:37AM1.19m | 3:46PM2.02m | 6:58AM1.26m | 5:00PM2.12m | 8:01AM1.37m | 6:08PM2.25m | 8:40AM1.49m | 7:09PM2.37m | 9:15AM1.59m | 8:03PM2.46m | 9:49AM1.69m | 8:52PM2.49m | |||||||
Low Tide | 10:28PM0.73m | 8:11AM1.09m | 11:56PM0.54m | 9:38AM1.20m | 1:01AM0.33m | 11:25AM1.23m | 1:53AM0.15m | 12:45PM1.17m | 2:38AM0.01m | 1:46PM1.06m | 3:19AM-0.06m | 2:40PM0.94m | 3:58AM-0.05m | |||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — |
 | 7:50 | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 21 |
Feels °C | 19 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 22 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 19 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 18 | SW 18 |
| kJ | 70 | 69 | 62 | 61 | 60 | 146 | 143 | 174 | 172 | 147 | 223 | 172 | 121 | 120 | 105 | 101 | 68 | 55 | 154 | 152 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | W 4 | W 4 | SSW 20 | SW 18 | SW 12 | SW 13 | WSW 4 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 4 | W 4 | SSW 11 | SW 11 | W 5 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 12 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 81 | 53 | 59 | 6 | 36 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 97 | 96 | 33 | 29 | 28 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | SW 20 | SSW 20 | S 12 | WSW 4 | W 4 | W 12 | SW 12 | W 4 | S 9 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SSW 21 | SSW 21 | SSW 20 | W 5 | W 5 | SW 18 | SW 15 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 3 | 15 | 37 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 19 | 45 | 44 | 38 | 4 | 2 | 52 | 54 | 28 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 5 | — | — | W 4 | — | — | W 2 | W 4 | — | W 4 | — | — | W 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 6 |
| kJ | 7 | — | — | 6 | — | — | 1 | 8 | — | 6 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 148 | 18 | 2 | 148 | 1 | 2 | 148 | 6 | 166 | 117 | 2 | 2 | 166 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Los Angeles County | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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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