Surf Forecasts:
Pescaderos surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period, SSW swell with 137 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 8PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Pescaderos this week:
The surf forecast for Pescaderos over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 13s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Pescaderos in the next 16 days are 0.5m 16s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 8PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 5s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 22) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pescaderos over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, grab a coffee and listen up. This is a tough one. The 16-day window we’re looking at is pretty grim for Pescaderos. The whole stretch is plagued by small, weak swells and mostly cross-shore winds, which means the waves just aren't lining up. We’ve got a solid gap of nothing worth paddling out for from Wednesday morning all the way through to the end of August. The first couple of weeks are basically a write-off, with scores scraping the bottom of the barrel. The water temp is sitting at 69°—that’s a massive 6° warmer than usual, so it’s a lot warmer than you’d expect for this time of year.
The only flicker of hope comes all the way out on the 29th of August. The Saturday afternoon shows a pulse of energy with a combined swell energy of 476 (moderate) and clean, cross-offshore winds from the W at 9 mph. Swell is small at 2 ft from the SSW with a 16-second period, which is a long-period groundswell—that means it’ll have some push and shape, but it’s really one for the longboard or a fun mid-length. The break is fairly consistent and beginner-friendly, but with those long-period swells, they can run a bit straight at a beach break, so keep that in mind. It’s the best on offer, but it’s a long way off and the forecast confidence is low. Sunday afternoon (30th) also has clean cross-off winds and a smaller 2 ft SSW swell, but it’s a step down in energy.
In short, this is a bleak outlook for Pescaderos. Hold tight, don’t bother checking the forecast every day for the next two weeks, and maybe just keep an eye on that late August window. The setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for most of the run.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 28°C on Wed afternoon, min 22°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Sat afternoon, min 24°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 186 | 164 | 110 | 118 | 120 | 115 | 59 | 58 | 39 | 106 | 42 | 71 | 90 | 80 | 112 | 109 | 98 | 135 | 130 | 91 | 89 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross | glassy | cross | cross | glassy | cross | cross | glassy | cross | cross | glassy | cross | cross-off | off | cross | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 3:14PM1.80m | 4:21PM1.79m | 8:37AM1.33m | 5:31PM1.81m | 8:55AM1.39m | 6:29PM1.88m | 9:13AM1.44m | 7:17PM1.97m | 9:31AM1.49m | 7:57PM2.04m | 9:50AM1.54m | 8:34PM2.09m | |||||||||
Low Tide | 11:30PM0.69m | 00:43AM0.59m | 10:39AM1.31m | 1:34AM0.49m | 12:14PM1.30m | 2:13AM0.40m | 1:10PM1.24m | 2:46AM0.33m | 1:52PM1.16m | 3:15AM0.27m | 2:29PM1.07m | 3:42AM0.25m | |||||||||
 | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — |
 | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:35 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 26 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 26 |
Feels °C | 26 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 24 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | WNW 7 | SSW 14 | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | SSW 13 | W 6 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | SSW 15 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 186 | 164 | 110 | 54 | 120 | 51 | 38 | 58 | 29 | 106 | 25 | 71 | 54 | 19 | 112 | 109 | 98 | 135 | 130 | 91 | 89 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 14 | S 16 | WNW 12 | SSW 14 | WNW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | WNW 11 | NW 5 | SSW 13 | SSW 15 | WNW 8 | SW 19 | SSW 13 | SSW 14 | S 14 | SSW 12 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 12 |
| kJ | 20 | 43 | 31 | 118 | 46 | 115 | 59 | 40 | 21 | 56 | 42 | 14 | 90 | 57 | 65 | 37 | 29 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 26 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 20 | WNW 14 | S 16 | WNW 13 | SW 19 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WSW 18 | WNW 11 | SW 18 | SSW 12 | SSW 19 | SSW 13 | SW 18 | S 15 | SSW 14 | S 14 | SSE 10 | W 18 | W 16 | W 15 |
| kJ | 16 | 18 | 20 | 32 | 14 | 46 | 40 | 30 | 39 | 50 | 28 | 37 | 32 | 80 | 38 | 41 | 36 | 10 | 24 | 21 | 39 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | — | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | — | WNW 7 | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | — | W 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 5 | W 5 | WNW 5 |
| kJ | 69 | 43 | 48 | — | 54 | 37 | — | 47 | 54 | 41 | 43 | 58 | — | 22 | 41 | 23 | 66 | 53 | 40 | 64 | 53 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 227 | 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 Pescaderos 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 Pescaderos Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Pescaderos provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Pescaderos can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Pescaderos 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 (Pescaderos) 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 Pescaderos 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.
Pescaderos 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