Surf Forecasts:
Steamer Lane-The Slot surf forecast from 26 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 28 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 8s period, NW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 29 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 18s period, SSW swell with 877 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 16s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Steamer Lane-The Slot this week:
The surf forecast for Steamer Lane-The Slot over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 16s 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 Steamer Lane-The Slot in the next 16 days are 1.2m 18s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 29) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 15s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 11AM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Wed 26th Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Sat 29th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Steamer Lane-The Slot over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Second Text (Imperial Units)
Alright, let’s break it down. The next couple of days are pretty flat and meh. Small junky swells with cross-onshore junk. You won’t be missing much. Thursday the 27th might have a little push in the afternoon but it’s poor with a short, weak period. Not worth it.
Friday the 28th, though, that morning looks like a little gem. Winds go dead glassy, swell is a clean 3ft from the SSW, and the energy is picking up (513). Long period swell of 17 seconds means nice, clean lines with good gaps between sets. It’ll be small but super clean. Perfect for a log.
The weekend is a bit of a letdown. Saturday the 29th has some size but the wind is messy, and Sunday the 30th has the swell but the wind is more on it. The first clear standout is a full week out, on Friday morning the 4th of September. It’s a long-range call, so just keep it in the back of your mind, but the forecast is for a glassy 3ft SSW swell with good energy (809). That will be a proper clean morning.
From the 31st through the 3rd, it’s just small and soft, with light onshores. Not much vibe.
Now, the second week is where it gets interesting. The whole period is more consistent, but the days that jump out are Tuesday afternoon the 8th of September—glassy and clean with a 3ft SSW swell (691). Then Wednesday the 9th afternoon is looking even better. The wind goes cross-offshore, it's clean, and the swell is still a solid 3ft from the SSW, with the energy climbing (870). That’s the real standout of the whole run. For a reef like Steamer Lane, that combination of clean conditions and SSW groundswell is hard to beat.
Thursday morning the 10th also looks great, glassy with 3ft of SSW swell (767).
Just remember, Steamer Lane is a reef break, so with those longer period swells, it can get a bit walled on the beach breaks, but the Lane handles it well. The clean days will have crowds, so don’t be surprised if it’s busy. Get in the water early.
Alright, that’s the picture. See you out there.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 29°C on Wed afternoon, min 18°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Sat afternoon, min 13°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | ||||||||||||||
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 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | NW 7 | SW 15 | NW 6 | NW 8 | SSW 17 | SSW 19 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 124 | 169 | 171 | 189 | 133 | 167 | 297 | 336 | 292 | 486 | 823 | 505 | 688 | 554 | 411 | 400 | 325 | 226 | 156 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 9:08PM1.62m | 11:20AM1.29m | 9:49PM1.61m | 11:36AM1.32m | 10:29PM1.57m | 11:54AM1.36m | 11:10PM1.51m | 12:15PM1.43m | 11:54PM1.42m | 12:38PM1.51m | 00:42AM1.32m | 1:06PM1.58m | 1:38AM1.21m | ||||||
Low Tide | 4:12AM-0.07m | 4:05PM0.75m | 4:38AM-0.07m | 4:37PM0.64m | 5:03AM-0.03m | 5:11PM0.53m | 5:28AM0.06m | 5:47PM0.43m | 5:53AM0.19m | 6:27PM0.33m | 6:20AM0.35m | 7:14PM0.25m | |||||||
 |  | | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — |
 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:37 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 19 | 26 | 29 | 22 | 26 | 27 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 17 |
Feels °C | 19 | 25 | 27 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 18 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SSW 16 | S 13 | WNW 7 | S 11 | S 11 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | SSW 19 | WNW 7 | SSW 18 | SSW 16 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | SSW 15 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 124 | 169 | 171 | 131 | 94 | 89 | 173 | 120 | 292 | 111 | 823 | 505 | 215 | 217 | 411 | 125 | 104 | 226 | 156 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 5 | S 15 | SSW 16 | S 12 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 17 | SW 14 | SSW 18 | WNW 8 | S 9 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSE 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSE 14 | WNW 7 |
| kJ | 9 | 112 | 166 | 144 | 104 | 103 | 138 | 336 | 89 | 486 | 145 | 6 | 688 | 554 | 21 | 400 | 325 | 36 | 42 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 13 | W 13 | W 13 | SW 15 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | — | S 9 | S 9 | S 17 | SSE 13 | W 10 | W 10 | SSE 12 |
| kJ | 84 | 55 | 55 | 106 | 133 | 131 | 94 | 57 | 31 | 27 | 15 | — | 6 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 30 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 5 | WNW 6 | NW 5 | NW 7 | WNW 7 | NW 6 | NW 8 | — | WNW 7 | NW 7 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | NW 8 | — | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | — | WNW 7 | — |
| kJ | 26 | 21 | 51 | 189 | 78 | 167 | 297 | — | 114 | 211 | 236 | 199 | 344 | — | 179 | 219 | — | 86 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 313 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Cruz | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Steamer Lane-The Slot 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 Steamer Lane-The Slot Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Steamer Lane-The Slot provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Steamer Lane-The Slot can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Steamer Lane-The Slot 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 (Steamer Lane-The Slot) 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 Steamer Lane-The Slot 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.
Steamer Lane-The Slot is 3 km (2 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.
Nearest