Tourmaline Surf Guide

Tourmaline in San Diego County is an exposed beach break that has fairly consistent surf. Summer offers the best conditions for surfing. Works best in offshore winds from the northeast. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the southwest. Waves at the beach are both lefts and rights. When the surf is up, crowds are likely Beware of .

Tourmaline Spot Info

Type:Rating:Reliability:Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef1fairly consistent
17.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Tourmaline:

The best conditions reported for surf at Tourmaline occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

What's the best time of year to surf Tourmaline (for consistent clean waves)?

novemberBest Season: winter
The best time of year for surfing Tourmaline with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter  and most often the month of November. Clean surfable waves are typically found 56% of the time in November while 39% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 5% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.
clean
56%
Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.
blown out
39%
Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).
too small
5%
Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Tourmaline Location Map

Interactive Tourmaline surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Tourmaline is San Diego International Lindbergh Fld Airport (SAN) in USA, 11 km (7 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Tourmaline is Miramar Mcas Airport (NKX), also in USA, 13 km (8 miles) away.

  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.
Tourmaline Surf Forecasts:
Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 14:19 Local Time
Monday 04
2PM5PM8PM11PM
Wave (m)
0.4
SW
0.4
SW
0.4
SW
0.4
SW
Period (s) 16 16 16 16
Wind (km/h)
15
20
15
20
Wind State cross-
on
cross-
on
on on

Swell History at Tourmaline

Surf stats for Tourmaline, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Wind History at Tourmaline

Wind stats for Tourmaline, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.


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