Surf Forecasts:
Playa Santa Catalina surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 28 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 18s period, SSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 28 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 18s period, SSW swell with 954 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 21 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 13s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Playa Santa Catalina this week:
The surf forecast for Playa Santa Catalina over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 21) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Playa Santa Catalina in the next 16 days are 1.3m 18s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 2s period and expected on Friday (Jul 24) at 4AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Tue 21st Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 1PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 18s |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Tue 28th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Playa Santa Catalina over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright crew, Rusty here with the lowdown for Playa Santa Catalina in the coming weeks.
The first day or two are a bit of a bust with those afternoon thunderstorms messing things up, but this spot is a very consistent point break that loves swell from the south-southwest. The water is sitting warm at 86°F, running a touch warmer than normal for the season, so it’s board-shorts weather.
Right, the real highlight hits on Friday morning, July 24th. We’ve got glassy conditions, a 2ft SSW groundswell running with a long 24-second period. That combined wave energy is pumping at 643. Winds are dead calm out of the west-northwest – you won’t see a bump on the water. This is proper point-break groundswell, so expect long walls and easy paddle-outs. This is the session.
Saturday morning, July 25th is another cracker. You’ve got 2ft SSW swell holding at 21 seconds (energy 589) with a light cross-offshore breeze from the northeast. Clean, punchy, and inviting.
Sunday morning, July 26th keeps the run alive: glassy again, with 3ft SSW swell (19 sec, 538 energy). It just keeps rolling.
Moving into the second week, the size picks up. Tuesday morning, July 28th gives you 4ft SSW swell (18 sec, 995 energy) with a clean cross-offshore wind from the east-northeast. This is the biggest stuff of the run – still fine for intermediates, but beginners might find it a handful. Wednesday morning, July 29th is similar: 4ft SSW swell (16 sec, 805 energy) with a clean NE breeze.
After that, things settle back down into early August. The mornings from Friday, August 1st through Tuesday, August 5th offer small, clean waves in the 2ft to 3ft range, but nothing special. The real juice was in that last week of July.
Bottom line: Friday July 24th morning and Saturday July 25th morning are your golden tickets. Perfect swell direction, glassy or light offshore wind – everything lines up.
See you in the water,
Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 57mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 29°C on Tue morning, min 24°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Warm (max 29°C on Sun morning, min 25°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | |||||||||||||||
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 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 11 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 26 | SW 7 | SSW 24 | SSW 12 | SSW 21 | SSW 21 | SSW 20 | SSW 19 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 20 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 134 | 127 | 246 | 98 | 133 | 127 | 82 | 132 | 114 | 368 | 217 | 718 | 404 | 346 | 590 | 415 | 491 | 480 | 351 | 325 | 751 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | off | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | glassy | on | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off |
High Tide | 9:17PM2.77m | 9:39AM2.95m | 10:14PM2.60m | 10:33AM2.79m | 11:18PM2.48m | 11:34AM2.69m | 00:25AM2.46m | 12:36PM2.68m | 1:28AM2.52m | 1:34PM2.74m | 2:20AM2.64m | 2:24PM2.85m | 3:05AM2.78m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 3:11PM0.74m | 3:20AM0.89m | 4:05PM0.87m | 4:15AM1.07m | 5:04PM0.96m | 5:17AM1.18m | 6:07PM0.98m | 6:21AM1.21m | 7:08PM0.93m | 7:22AM1.16m | 8:01PM0.82m | 8:15AM1.05m | 8:47PM0.69m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | | |  | | |  | | |  | |  |  | | | | | | |
 | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — |
 | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — |
mm | 1 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | 2 | — | — | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
Temp °C | 29 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
Feels °C | 34 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 32 | 29 | 30 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 31 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 13 | SSW 11 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SW 7 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 21 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 19 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 |
| kJ | 100 | 100 | 246 | 98 | 133 | 127 | 47 | 64 | 114 | 247 | 177 | 718 | 138 | 138 | 590 | 415 | 491 | 480 | 351 | 325 | 751 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | S 21 | SSW 13 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 24 | SSW 24 | SSW 11 | SSW 21 | SSW 20 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 21 | SSW 10 | SSW 20 | SSW 16 | SSW 9 |
| kJ | 134 | 127 | 9 | 69 | 12 | 13 | 82 | 87 | 46 | 368 | 217 | 138 | 404 | 346 | 133 | 82 | 90 | 75 | 336 | 223 | 26 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | S 21 | S 21 | S 20 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SSW 26 | SSW 26 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 10 | SSW 9 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 23 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 14 | 132 | 65 | 28 | 26 | 64 | 47 | 21 | 41 | 41 | 37 | 34 | 54 | 50 | 26 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSW 10 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 106 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 40 | 0 | 131 | 242 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Veraguas | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Panama | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Playa Santa Catalina Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Playa Santa Catalina provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Playa Santa Catalina can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Playa Santa Catalina 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 (Playa Santa Catalina) 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 Playa Santa Catalina 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Veraguas? If you are looking for accommodation near Playa Santa Catalina, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Veraguas, consider staying in Manzanillo which is 17 km (11 miles) away. Other places in and around Veraguas where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Las Minas which is 57 km (35 miles) away, Santiago de Veraguas and Chitre.
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