Mesa Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Santa Barbara, USA)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Mesa Surf Guide

Mesa in Santa Barbara is a fairly exposed reef break that has quite consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the northeast. Groundswells and windswells are equally likely and the ideal swell direction is from the west southwest. Best around mid tide. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Take care of rocks in the line up.

Mesa Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	1	fairly consistent	15.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Mesa:

The best conditions reported for surf at Mesa occur when a West-southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Mesa (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Mesa with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 48% of the time in January while 45% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 7% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

48%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

45%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Mesa Location Map

Interactive Mesa surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Mesa is Point Mugu Nas Airport (NTD) in USA, 64 km (40 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Mesa is Vandenberg Afb (Lompoc) Airport (VBG), also in USA, 86 km (53 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Mesa Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 01:06 Local Time

m, °C	Mon		Tue
ft, °F	8PM	11PM	2AM	5AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	SW
Period (s)	14	14	14	17
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	cross- off	cross	cross

What does Mesa look like?

Latest photos from Mesa. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Forest Credit: jorge vernaza

Tides at Mesa

Current tide and informaton

For Santa Barbara, California, 4 km from Mesa.

Next High Water: 02:17pm | 0.91m

Next Low Water: 07:05am | -0.03m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Mesa Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.1 °C) at Mesa is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (17.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.1°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite