Surf Forecasts:
San Mateo surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 21 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 13s period, SW swell with 321 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 21 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 16s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for San Mateo this week:
The surf forecast for San Mateo over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 21) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 16s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at San Mateo in the next 16 days are 1.0m 13s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 8s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 20) at 4AM.
| Wave Type | Time (-05) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Fri 21st Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 7AM (Fri 21st Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Wed 19th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for San Mateo over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into the 16-day forecast for San Mateo.
Water temp is running 80°F, which is 8°F warmer than normal – way above average for this time of year, so you’ll be in boardies or a spring suit.
Truth is, this is a tough stretch. There’s a long dry spell of poor conditions before anything decent shows up. The only real standout is at the very end of the run.
Here’s how it goes:
Wednesday 19th August – Morning has 5ft SW swell at 10 seconds, but it’s cross-shore with a cross-chop. Combined energy is 558, moderate, but the wind ruins it. Marginal at best.
Thursday 20th August – Smaller, 3ft SW swell, period up to 11 seconds. Morning light cross-shore, still marginal. Afternoon gets choppy.
Friday 21st August – Tiny 2ft SW swell, but morning is glassy with a 5 km/h W wind – that’s offshore and dead calm. Energy is weak at 145. The period is 16 seconds – very long – so on a beach break it might close out, but San Mateo is a point, so it could wrap in. Barely rideable.
Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd August – Small, messy, cross-shore winds. Not worth it.
Monday 24th through Wednesday 26th August – Same story: small swell, low energy. The 26th morning has a 5-second period and only 22 energy – essentially flat.
Thursday 27th August – Still marginal, 2ft at 16 seconds, cross-shore breeze. Not enough.
Now the good stuff – Friday 28th August morning. Swell jumps to 5ft from the SW, 18 seconds, and energy hits 1404 – strong. Wind is a gentle cross-shore from the SW at 15 km/h. This is the clear standout. The swell is solid but still manageable for most. The long period means it’ll be powerful but the point break should handle it.
Saturday 29th August morning – Even bigger: 7ft SW swell, 16 seconds, energy 1955 – that’s a lot of power. This is for advanced surfers only. Wind is a gentle cross-shore. Heavy, but clean.
Sunday 30th August – Drops to 5ft, 14-second period, 849 energy. Morning cross-shore, still decent.
Monday 31st August through Thursday 3rd September – Fades to 2ft to 4ft, period drops, wind turns cross-onshore. Thursday 3rd September morning has a light cross-shore with 3ft swell at 16 seconds and 583 energy – marginal.
Bottom line: First week is a washout. The best windows are Friday 28th August morning with clean 5ft SW groundswell, and Saturday 29th August morning with heavy 7ft for the experts. Wait for that end of the month.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Thu morning, min 23°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Sun morning, min 23°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) | SW 10 | SW 8 | SW 13 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 334 | 250 | 321 | 176 | 169 | 77 | 127 | 74 | 127 | 116 | 85 | 129 | 208 | 203 | 192 | 219 | 165 | 161 | 145 | 106 | 74 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | glassy | on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 8:36PM2.03m | 8:47AM2.07m | 9:32PM1.88m | 9:42AM1.92m | 10:43PM1.78m | 10:52AM1.84m | 00:04AM1.78m | 12:09PM1.84m | 1:13AM1.87m | 1:14PM1.92m | 2:05AM2.01m | 2:05PM2.04m | 2:45AM2.16m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 2:23PM0.57m | 2:35AM0.79m | 3:13PM0.70m | 3:30AM0.94m | 4:16PM0.80m | 4:41AM1.03m | 5:31PM0.82m | 6:02AM1.04m | 6:42PM0.77m | 7:12AM0.97m | 7:39PM0.66m | 8:05AM0.85m | 8:23PM0.54m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — |
 | — | 6:29 | — | — | 6:29 | — | — | 6:29 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 23 |
Feels °C | 26 | 24 | 23 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 28 | 24 | 24 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 11 | SSW 7 | SSW 7 | SSW 10 | SW 9 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 5 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 218 | 202 | 321 | 176 | 108 | 66 | 125 | 84 | 127 | 116 | 85 | 82 | 18 | 203 | 192 | 219 | 165 | 161 | 145 | 106 | 74 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 11 | SSW 10 | NW 9 | SW 16 | SW 11 | SSW 10 | SW 16 | SW 14 | WSW 21 | SSW 9 | SSW 9 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SSW 10 | WSW 10 | SW 10 |
| kJ | 5 | 10 | 3 | 39 | 169 | 65 | 127 | 74 | 42 | 35 | 15 | 129 | 208 | 50 | 35 | 35 | 19 | 19 | 11 | 10 | 15 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 8 | SW 18 | NW 13 | NW 14 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 22 | SW 11 | NW 13 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SSW 8 | SW 12 | SW 15 | NW 12 | SW 11 | NW 15 | NW 14 | WSW 10 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 |
| kJ | 1 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 77 | 18 | 19 | 7 | 61 | 60 | 7 | 52 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 18 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 10 | SW 8 | SW 8 | SSW 7 | — | — | — | — | SW 9 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 5 | — | SW 5 | SW 4 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 | SW 5 | SW 4 | SW 5 | SW 5 |
| kJ | 334 | 250 | 178 | 146 | — | — | — | — | 86 | 19 | 20 | 17 | — | 22 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 21 | 20 | 27 | 25 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 377 | 938 | 310 | 7 | 920 | 46 | 0 | 857 | 181 | 102 | 815 | 7 | 141 | 805 | 111 | 7 | 1012 | 111 | 48 | 815 | 461 |
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Information about the San Mateo Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for San Mateo provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at San Mateo can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our San Mateo 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 (San Mateo) 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 San Mateo 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 Manabi? If you are looking for accommodation near San Mateo, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Manabi, consider staying in Manta which is 11 km (7 miles) away. Other places in and around Manabi where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Montecristi which is 21 km (13 miles) away, Portoviejo, Jipijapa and Sucre.
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