Shacks Surf Forecast

/ CAL – Santa Cruz (30 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /

USA (1297 breaks)

Surf Forecasts:

Shacks surfForecast / CAL – Santa Cruz / USA

12 Day Weather and Surf, issued 10 am Thursday 16 Oct 2025 PDT

Forecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent

Shacks surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Today's Shacks sea temperature is 15.4° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Shacks this week:

The surf forecast for Shacks over the next 12 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Oct 16) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 15s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 13s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Shacks in the next 12 days are 1.9m 16s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Oct 20) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Thursday (Oct 16) at 5PM.

Wave Type	Time (PDT) & Date	Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)	8PM (Thu 16th Oct)	2ft (0.6m) 15s
Best Surf	5PM (Sat 18th Oct)	4.5ft (1.4m) 16s
Most Powerful	11AM (Mon 20th Oct)	6ft (1.9m) 16s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Shacks over the next 12 days.

Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent

12 Days Hourly

Print Table

	Short Range Forecast Mostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sat afternoon, min 12°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light.									Days 3-6 Weather Summary Mostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sun afternoon, min 13°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.
	Thursday 16			Friday 17			Saturday 18			Sunday 19			Monday 20			Tuesday 21			Wednesday 22
	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night	AM	PM	Night
Rating (10 max)	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	4	3	3	2	3	4	3	3	3	2	4	4	3	3
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) & direction (?)	WNW	W	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period(s) (?)	16	16	15	15	13	20	17	16	15	14	13	13	16	15	13	14	12	13	16	14	13
Wave Graph (?)
kJ (?)	198	129	167	167	102	216	627	974	726	585	434	414	1834	1496	837	982	636	596	1586	1010	634
Wind (km/h)	WNW	NW	NNE	S	WNW	N	S	W	ESE	S	NW	N	WSW	W	ENE	W	WNW	ESE	S	NW	NNW
Wind State (?) onshore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore offshore glassy	cross	cross- off	off	glass	cross- off	glass	glass	glass	cross- off	glass	cross- off	glass	glass	cross	glass	cross	cross	glass	glass	cross- off	cross- off
High Tide / height (m)	8:28AM 1.81	7:47PM 1.82		8:57AM 1.88		8:43PM 1.79	9:22AM 1.95		9:33PM 1.76	9:45AM 2.00		10:20PM 1.73	10:08AM 2.04		11:06PM 1.69	10:31AM 2.06		11:52PM 1.65	10:56AM 2.06		12:40AM 1.60
Low Tide / height (m)		2:07PM 1.01	2:22AM 0.49		2:55PM 0.85	2:58AM 0.59		3:36PM 0.70	3:29AM 0.70		4:14PM 0.57	3:58AM 0.82		4:49PM 0.46	4:26AM 0.94		5:25PM 0.38	4:54AM 1.05		6:02PM 0.34

	Thursday 16			Friday 17			Saturday 18			Sunday 19			Monday 20			Tuesday 21			Wednesday 22
Sunrise	7:16	-	-	7:16	-	-	7:18	-	-	7:18	-	-	7:20	-	-	7:20	-	-	7:22	-	-
Sunset	-	6:30	-	-	6:29	-	-	6:28	-	-	6:27	-	-	6:24	-	-	6:23	-	-	6:22	-

Rain (mm)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Temp. °C	15	17	15	18	19	18	19	20	18	19	20	17	17	18	16	17	17	14	17	19	20
Feels °C (?)	14	13	13	17	17	16	18	18	17	17	16	15	16	16	16	16	16	14	16	17	19

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Recent Eyeball Surf Reports for CAL - Santa Cruz

Wind Update Continuing clean conditions at Shacks (calm at Felton 10 km from Shacks). 1.1m 4s local chop from the NW with a 0.6m 14s groundswell from the WNW and a 0.4m 13s groundswell from the S. 3 swells combining to make bigger set waves.
1 hour 9 minutes ago Shacks

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1 h 9 min ago

5 km/h

Clean

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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Shacks 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 Shacks Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Shacks provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 12 days. A general guide to surfing at Shacks can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Shacks 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 (Shacks) 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 Shacks 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.

Shacks is 13 km (8 miles) from Santa Cruz. If you plan a vacation in Santa Cruz, look for hotels and other accommodation in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.