Surf Forecasts:
Isla Vista surf forecast from 25 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 27 Aug, 2PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 12s period, S swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 30 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 15s period, SSW swell with 326 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 25 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 16s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Isla Vista this week:
The surf forecast for Isla Vista over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Isla Vista in the next 16 days are 0.9m 15s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 30) 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 0.8m 13s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Tue 25th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 2PM (Thu 27th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Isla Vista over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s take a look at what’s cooking.
Honestly, the next 16 days at Isla Vista are looking pretty flat and frustrating. There’s not a single standout session in the whole run. The water is much warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 70°, which is a solid 7° above average, but that’s about the only thing that’s out of the ordinary.
Right from the start, Tuesday morning the 25th, we’ve got a tiny 2ft swell from the southwest, but it’s a long period 16-second groundswell. The problem is, the wind is onshore and the energy is weak (205), so the surf is just a mess. That sets the tone. We roll through the rest of the week with nothing but poor to marginal surf. The combined energy stays mostly in the 100-200 range, which is weak, and the wind is almost always cross-onshore or onshore.
Thursday the 27th morning sees a slight bump to 2ft from the south, but again, the wind is cross-onshore and the energy is only moderate (263). The condition is still poor. Friday the 28th afternoon gets a little bigger at 5ft from the west-northwest, but that’s a short period 5-second windswell, and a 12 mph cross-onshore wind will chop it up bad. Not worth paddling out.
The weekend of the 30th and 31st offers a bit more energy, with some readings in the 400s, but the swell is only 3ft to 3ft and the wind is always from the wrong direction. It’s a classic case of a beach and reef setup that just can’t get clean with the wind and weak swell.
The first week of September is more of the same. There’s a glimmer on Thursday the 3rd afternoon with a 2ft, 18-second swell from the south-southwest and energy of 403, but the wind is a gentle cross-onshore and the surf is still poor. The morning of Friday the 4th is rated marginal, with 2ft and 17-second period, but the wind is still onshore. It’s just not coming together.
The best you can hope for is a few marginal mornings on the 4th, 6th, and 9th of September, where the wind is light and the swell is small. But even then, the conditions are just questionable. There is no single day where the swell size, direction, and wind all line up for a good wave.
This is a tough stretch for Isla Vista. The surf is small, the wind is unfriendly, and the energy is mostly weak. Unless you’re desperate for a paddle, I’d wait for the next system.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 33°C on Wed morning, min 24°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 33°C on Fri morning, min 20°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | |||||||||||||||
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 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | S 11 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 130 | 91 | 89 | 124 | 85 | 79 | 87 | 123 | 142 | 146 | 280 | 312 | 302 | 261 | 255 | 314 | 218 | 213 | 116 | 106 | 74 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | glassy | on | on | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | on | cross-on | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 9:50AM1.54m | 8:34PM2.09m | 10:09AM1.59m | 9:10PM2.11m | 10:30AM1.66m | 9:45PM2.07m | 10:51AM1.73m | 10:22PM1.99m | 11:14AM1.81m | 11:01PM1.86m | 11:39AM1.87m | 11:45PM1.70m | 12:07PM1.93m | 00:36AM1.51m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:29PM1.07m | 3:42AM0.25m | 3:05PM0.98m | 4:07AM0.27m | 3:43PM0.89m | 4:32AM0.32m | 4:22PM0.81m | 4:56AM0.41m | 5:03PM0.74m | 5:19AM0.53m | 5:49PM0.69m | 5:43AM0.68m | 6:42PM0.65m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — |
 | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:27 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 29 | 32 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 28 | 33 | 32 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 22 |
Feels °C | 29 | 32 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 34 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | S 13 | WNW 5 | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | W 8 | S 9 | S 9 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | S 13 |
| kJ | 21 | 55 | 51 | 212 | 189 | 79 | 87 | 65 | 131 | 43 | 25 | 312 | 302 | 261 | 255 | 314 | 218 | 213 | 116 | 105 | 82 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSE 13 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | S 11 | S 11 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 18 | S 17 | S 16 | S 16 | S 9 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 130 | 91 | 133 | 40 | 51 | 126 | 108 | 123 | 82 | 95 | 68 | 152 | 91 | 127 | 122 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 50 | 28 | 68 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | SSE 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | W 10 | S 19 | S 8 | W 9 | S 9 | S 9 | W 20 | S 9 | S 13 | SSE 10 | S 14 | SW 19 |
| kJ | 55 | 10 | 89 | 124 | 85 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 65 | 31 | 66 | 12 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 84 | 9 | 16 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WNW 5 | — | — | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | — | — | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | — | 27 | — | — | 42 | 13 | — | — | 142 | 146 | 280 | 122 | 140 | 171 | 194 | 201 | 160 | 97 | 114 | 106 | 74 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 150 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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 Isla Vista 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 Isla Vista Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Isla Vista provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Isla Vista can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Isla Vista 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 (Isla Vista) 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 Isla Vista 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.
Isla Vista is 1 km (1 miles) from Isla Vista. If you plan a vacation in Santa Barbara, look for hotels and other accommodation in Isla Vista. Isla Vista has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest