Surf Forecasts:
Ponto surf forecast from 11 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 17 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 16s period, SSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 11 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period, SW swell with 483 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 14s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Ponto this week:
The surf forecast for Ponto over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 14s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Ponto in the next 16 days are 1.0m 16s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 11) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Sat 12th Sep) | 2ft (0.6m) 14s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Thu 17th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Fri 11th Sep) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Ponto over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Hey, Rusty here. I gotta be honest – this 16-day stretch for Ponto is a real struggle. For the first six days, there’s nothing worth paddling out for. The swell’s around, but the wind is always cross-on or onshore, and the conditions are just poor or marginal. You’re looking at a dry spell from now until Wednesday the 16th, with no real surf to speak of.
The water temp is about what you’d expect for this time of year, nothing unusual.
So, what’s the play? The only window that stands out is around the weekend of the 19th and 20th of September. We’ve got a long-period SW groundswell coming in, with periods around 17 to 18 seconds – that’s proper groundswell, which means better shaped waves and more energy between sets. The swell height is only about 3ft to 3ft, but with that long period, it’ll have more grunt than the number suggests. The combined wave energy is moderate to strong, clocking in around the 538 to 660 mark (moderate to strong energy). The best bit? The wind goes light and onshore or cross-on with a light breeze on Sunday morning the 20th, keeping the surface clean.
Ponto is a river mouth break, so that long-period SW swell fits well. It’s a fairly consistent spot, exposed to the SW, which matches the optimum direction for the break. At this size, it’s a beginner-friendly wave, but with crowds listed as “often”, expect some company.
If you’re looking for the best of a tough lot, aim for Sunday morning the 20th of September at Ponto. You’ll have clean, light winds, a 3ft SW groundswell with an 18-second period, and moderate to strong energy (660). It’s not going to blow your mind, but it’s the most promising session in the whole forecast. Saturday morning the 19th is a close second, with similar swell and light winds, just a tad smaller.
After that, the final week drops back into poor conditions with cross-onshore winds and weak, short-period swell. The 26th of September shows a hint of a 19-second period swell, but it’s only 2ft and cross-on – not enough to bother.
Bottom line: save your energy for that Sunday the 20th. It’s not epic, but for Ponto in this run, it’s as good as it gets.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 25°C on Thu night, min 21°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Mon morning, min 19°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | ||||||||||||||
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 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | W 7 | SW 19 | W 10 | W 8 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SSW 20 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 483 | 471 | 360 | 309 | 211 | 164 | 160 | 107 | 130 | 175 | 116 | 150 | 190 | 161 | 127 | 114 | 386 | 347 | 291 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | glassy | cross-on | on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | on | glassy |
High Tide | 9:21PM2.20m | 10:01AM2.05m | 10:03PM2.06m | 10:28AM2.09m | 10:46PM1.88m | 10:56AM2.09m | 11:29PM1.68m | 11:24AM2.06m | 00:18AM1.49m | 11:53AM1.99m | 1:22AM1.32m | 12:27PM1.89m | 3:51AM1.22m | ||||||
Low Tide | 3:46AM0.28m | 4:00PM0.53m | 4:14AM0.43m | 4:43PM0.49m | 4:40AM0.61m | 5:27PM0.50m | 5:04AM0.79m | 6:13PM0.56m | 5:24AM0.96m | 7:08PM0.64m | 5:36AM1.11m | 8:22PM0.72m | |||||||
 |  | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — |
 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 7:00 | — | — | 6:58 | — | — | 6:57 | — | — | 6:55 | — | — | 6:53 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 |
Feels °C | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | W 6 | W 7 | W 7 | W 10 | W 8 | W 7 | W 7 | W 9 | W 9 | SW 16 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 483 | 471 | 360 | 309 | 211 | 164 | 49 | 107 | 80 | 175 | 116 | 52 | 45 | 57 | 56 | 87 | 386 | 347 | 291 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 5 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | W 6 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | W 8 | W 6 | W 6 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 10 | 30 | 27 | 17 | 24 | 23 | 160 | 89 | 87 | 85 | 108 | 150 | 190 | 161 | 122 | 31 | 11 | 9 | 82 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 19 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSW 20 | SSW 18 | S 14 | S 9 | SSW 10 |
| kJ | 39 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 29 | 14 | 58 | 130 | 129 | 43 | 40 | 38 | 37 | 127 | 114 | 32 | 15 | 18 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 31 | 109 | 101 | 6 | 103 | 54 | 0 | 31 | 54 | 6 | 109 | 185 | 2 | 31 | 101 | 0 | 54 | 54 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in San Diego County | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Ponto 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 Ponto Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Ponto provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Ponto can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Ponto 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 (Ponto) 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 Ponto 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.
Ponto is 2 km (1 miles) from the city of Carlsbad. If you plan a vacation in San Diego County, look for hotels and other accommodation in Carlsbad. Carlsbad has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest