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Refugio State Beach Surf Forecast
/ CAL – Santa Barbara (36 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Refugio State Beach surfForecast / CAL – Santa Barbara / USA
16 Day Weather and Surf, issued 4 pm Wednesday 22 Apr 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Refugio State Beach surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Refugio State Beach sea temperature is
15.6° C
(Which is 2.0°C warmer than normal for this time of year)Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Refugio State Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Refugio State Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Apr 23) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 15s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Refugio State Beach in the next 16 days are 1.1m 12s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Apr 28) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.8m 6s period and expected on Thursday (Apr 23) at 8PM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Thu 23rd Apr) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Thu 23rd Apr) | 2ft (0.6m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Tue 28th Apr) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Refugio State Beach over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Thu afternoon, min 10°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the NW on Wed afternoon, calm by Fri morning). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Sun morning, min 10°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wed 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
S 18 | S 16 | SSW 16 | S 16 | WNW 7 | S 14 | S 14 | W 16 | S 13 | W 15 | W 15 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | NW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | SW 16 | NW 20 | |
225 | 132 | 266 | 242 | 192 | 153 | 103 | 129 | 89 | 109 | 109 | 198 | 142 | 163 | 180 | 85 | 96 | 83 | 328 | 64 | 186 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross-off | on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross | |
High Tide | 4:58PM1.45m | 2:33AM1.95m | 6:04PM1.55m | 4:03AM1.84m | 6:47PM1.67m | 5:28AM1.78m | 7:21PM1.78m | 6:40AM1.74m | 7:50PM1.88m | 7:40AM1.71m | 8:16PM1.96m | 8:33AM1.68m | 8:41PM2.03m | 9:21AM1.64m | |||||||
Low Tide | 8:19PM1.35m | 10:33AM0.30m | 10:22PM1.31m | 11:38AM0.34m | 11:57PM1.17m | 12:30PM0.39m | 1:04AM0.98m | 1:13PM0.46m | 1:55AM0.79m | 1:49PM0.56m | 2:38AM0.62m | 2:20PM0.67m | 3:17AM0.48m | ||||||||
 |  | | |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:11 |
 | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:42 | — | 7:43 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 20 | 13 | 20 | 22 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 19 |
13 | 9 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 18 | S 16 | WNW 6 | S 16 | WNW 13 | S 14 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | W 15 | W 5 | WNW 16 | WNW 14 | WNW 14 | NW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | S 12 | WNW 12 | NW 20 |
 kJ | 225 | 132 | 56 | 242 | 158 | 153 | 103 | 90 | 89 | 87 | 109 | 19 | 142 | 163 | 180 | 85 | 96 | 83 | 25 | 55 | 186 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | NW 15 | SSW 16 | WNW 14 | S 15 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | W 16 | WNW 12 | W 15 | S 12 | WNW 16 | S 12 | S 12 | W 5 | W 13 | S 11 | S 12 | SW 16 | SW 16 | WNW 11 |
| kJ | 24 | 56 | 266 | 134 | 155 | 96 | 90 | 129 | 47 | 109 | 46 | 198 | 45 | 45 | 13 | 32 | 23 | 44 | 41 | 64 | 51 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | W 14 | WNW 9 | W 15 | S 12 | WNW 16 | WNW 16 | NW 12 | WNW 15 | NW 11 | WNW 11 | S 12 | WNW 13 | SW 15 | S 13 | S 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | S 16 | S 12 | S 15 |
| kJ | 31 | 32 | 54 | 17 | 11 | 53 | 51 | 36 | 75 | 19 | 11 | 46 | 34 | 34 | 31 | 21 | 28 | 28 | 20 | 25 | 38 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | — | WNW 5 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 | W 5 | W 5 | — | W 5 | W 5 | WNW 5 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 4 | WNW 12 | WNW 5 | WNW 6 |
| kJ | 113 | 145 | — | 107 | 192 | 111 | 126 | 61 | 35 | 20 | 23 | — | 27 | 27 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 328 | 64 | 111 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 328 | 0 | 21 | 22 | 0 | 170 | 56 | 2 | 21 | 893 | 0 | 117 | 326 | 0 | 124 | 22 | 0 | 54 | 1590 | 0 | 97 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Barbara | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Refugio State Beach 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 Refugio State Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Refugio State Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Refugio State Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Refugio State Beach 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 (Refugio State Beach) 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 Refugio State Beach 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.
Refugio State Beach is 21 km (13 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.
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