Malibu · Today

County Line

Ventura County surf-zone forecast; official range for County Line: 2–4 ft

Updated Tue, Sep 22, 4:40 PM PDT

When to go

4:40 PM–6:00 PM

Windy · Moderate confidence

2.3–2.4 ft · Coastal waves · not surf height

Wind: 11.1 kt · cross-shore

Forecast details

Waves are forecast to reach this beach.
This is the best time in the forecast, though wind may make it choppy.

Other wind windows

Plan around the wind

The best available upcoming daylight wind sample to compare with the wave evidence. This compares wind only; wave size, tide suitability, and hazards can change your choice.

5:00 PM–6:00 PM · America/Los_Angeles
Unfavorable wind · up to 11.1 kt · reported gusts up to 13.8 kt
Caution: This is the best available wind comparison, not a favorable-wind label. The selected wind is unfavorable for this break.
Coastal waves at about 10 m depth: 2.3–2.4 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data available; check the local tide response.
Wind source time: Sep 22, 3:45 PM PDT. This is not the model run issue time.

How these periods are chosen

The planner prefers three consecutive hourly samples covering two daylight hours, but retains shorter one- or two-sample evidence when that is all the forecast provides. Light wind means at most 6 kt. Moderate offshore means at most 12 kt from land toward the sea when shore orientation is verified. Strong wind or known gusts of 20 kt or more remain visible as cautions instead of making the entire comparison disappear. These are comparison labels, not locally tested surf-quality or safety ratings. Missing gusts remain unknown. Terrain shelter, currents, closures, and your ability are not assessed.

Wind WNW 10 kt

Tide 4 ft rising

Wave, wind and tide details

CDIP coastal waveSSW 2.3 ft @ 17sECMWF forecast valid Sep 22, 5:00 PM PDTVE021 · significant wave height at 10.0 m depth · not breaking surfCDIP issued Sep 22, 2:39 PM PDT · upstream model cycle not providedSpectral split: ≥10 s 2.0 ft · <10 s 1.1 ft

Coastal period bands

20 s and longer: 0.6 ft · energy-weighted direction 212°14–20 s: 1.6 ft · energy-weighted direction 209°10–14 s: 1.1 ft · energy-weighted direction 206°Under 10 s: 1.1 ft · energy-weighted direction 236°Band heights combine as energy, not by addition. Period bands are not separately identified swell systems. Forecast omits wave periods shorter than about 4 s.

Offshore model swell— Unavailable No usable model swell value for this hour

Model windOpen-Meteo · requested at 34.052, -118.962; not a local anemometerWNW 10 ktcross-shoreValid 2026-09-22 17:00 · America/Los_Angeles2.0 kt onshore component

Tide4 ftrisingSanta Monica station 9410840 · regional proxy, interpolated between station extrema · predicted height relative to MLLW59% of adjacent local low–high range · descriptive, not a safety rating

Surf height unavailable. Coastal and offshore waves are not breaking-wave heights.

Coastal waves and wind

CDIP significant wave height at about 10 m depth. Gaps remain gaps; no breaking-wave range is implied.

Buoy-driven nowcast for available past hours; labeled coastal forecasts for future hours. Changes of source can cause discontinuities. Values and source labels are listed below.Wind arrows point from the reported direction

Hourly forecast

Hourly surf forecast for County Line
Time	Coastal waves · ~10 m	Wind	Tide	Offshore swell
12 AM	SSW 2.7 ft @ 17s	N 7.6 ktoffshore	1.5 ftfalling	— Unavailable
1 AM	SSW 2.7 ft @ 17s	NNE 5.8 ktoffshore	1 ftfalling	— Unavailable
2 AM	SSW 2.7 ft @ 17s	E 3.5 ktcross-shore	0.5 ftrising	— Unavailable
3 AM	SSW 2.7 ft @ 17s	E 2.9 ktcross-shore	1 ftrising	— Unavailable
4 AM	SSW 2.6 ft @ 17s	ENE 1.9 ktoffshore	1.5 ftrising	— Unavailable
5 AM	SSW 2.5 ft @ 17s	NE 4.2 ktoffshore	2 ftrising	— Unavailable
6 AM	SSW 2.5 ft @ 17s	NE 4.7 ktoffshore	3 ftrising	— Unavailable
7 AM	SSW 2.5 ft @ 18s	NNE 3.4 ktoffshore	3.5 ftrising	— Unavailable
8 AM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 18s	NE 4.4 ktoffshore	4 ftnear high	— Unavailable
9 AM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 18s	SW 1.2 ktonshore	4 ftfalling	— Unavailable
10 AM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 18s	SW 4.4 ktonshore	3.5 ftfalling	— Unavailable
11 AM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 18s	W 7.6 ktcross-shore	3.5 ftfalling	— Unavailable
Noon	SSW 2.4 ft @ 18s	W 9.4 ktcross-shore	3 ftfalling	— Unavailable
1 PM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 18s	W 10.8 ktcross-shore	2.5 ftnear low	— Unavailable
2 PM	SSW 2.3 ft @ 18s	W 10.7 ktcross-shore	2.5 ftrising	— Unavailable
3 PM	SSW 2.3 ft @ 18s	WNW 9.5 ktcross-shore	3 ftrising	— Unavailable
4 PM	SSW 2.3 ft @ 17s	WNW 9.7 ktcross-shore	3.5 ftrising	— Unavailable
5 PM	SSW 2.3 ft @ 17s	WNW 10 ktcross-shore	4 ftrising	— Unavailable
6 PM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 17s	NW 11.1 ktcross-shore	4.5 ftrising	— Unavailable
7 PM	SSW 2.4 ft @ 17s	NW 10.2 ktcross-shore	5 ftnear high	— Unavailable
8 PM	SSW 2.5 ft @ 17s	NNW 11.9 ktcross-shore	5 ftfalling	— Unavailable
9 PM	SSW 2.5 ft @ 17s	NNW 10.1 ktcross-shore	4 ftfalling	— Unavailable
10 PM	SSW 2.6 ft @ 17s	NW 8.6 ktcross-shore	3.5 ftfalling	— Unavailable
11 PM	SSW 2.7 ft @ 17s	NNW 5.7 ktcross-shore	2.5 ftfalling	— Unavailable

12 AM2.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindN 7.6 ktoffshoreTide1.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

1 AM2.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNNE 5.8 ktoffshoreTide1 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

2 AM2.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindE 3.5 ktcross-shoreTide0.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

3 AM2.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindE 2.9 ktcross-shoreTide1 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

4 AM2.6 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindENE 1.9 ktoffshoreTide1.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

5 AM2.5 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNE 4.2 ktoffshoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

6 AM2.5 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNE 4.7 ktoffshoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

7 AM2.5 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNNE 3.4 ktoffshoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

8 AM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNE 4.4 ktoffshoreTide4 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable

9 AM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindSW 1.2 ktonshoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

10 AM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindSW 4.4 ktonshoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

11 AM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 7.6 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

Noon2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 9.4 ktcross-shoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

1 PM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 10.8 ktcross-shoreTide2.5 ftnear lowOffshore swell— Unavailable

2 PM2.3 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 10.7 ktcross-shoreTide2.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

3 PM2.3 ft coastal waves

SSW 18s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindWNW 9.5 ktcross-shoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

4 PM2.3 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindWNW 9.7 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

5 PM2.3 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindWNW 10 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

6 PM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNW 11.1 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable

7 PM2.4 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNW 10.2 ktcross-shoreTide5 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable

8 PM2.5 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNNW 11.9 ktcross-shoreTide5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

9 PM2.5 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNNW 10.1 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

10 PM2.6 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNW 8.6 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

11 PM2.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 17s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindNNW 5.7 ktcross-shoreTide2.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

Tide

Santa Monica station 9410840 · regional proxy, interpolated between station extrema · MLLW

Interpolated tide height Recommended window

About this spot

Open exposure to west and southwest swell.

Mapped spot coordinate: 34.052, -118.962.

Model request point: Malibu Coast (34.02, -118.76). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

CDIP VE021: 34.0490, -118.9680 · 10.01 m depth · 216° shore normal · shore type 1 · 518 m transect. CDIP County Line, Ventura transect; exact named break at the LA–Ventura boundary and aligned 216° shore normal. CDIP metadata.

Forecast sources

Data coverage 4/4 sources

Source availability is not forecast accuracy. Where an empirical model passes historical testing, its error and interval coverage are shown above. Source count cannot increase that confidence.

Ventura County surf-zone forecast for County Line2–4 ftCurrent · Sep 22, 2:00 PM PDT

CDIP MOP coastal forecast (ECMWF)
1/1 transects have all 05:00–19:00 hours on 2026-09-22; 1 have some coverage. 0 explicitly use WW3 fallback; 0 reuse retained responses. Timestamp is the oldest usable CDIP issue, not the upstream model cycle. Hs at about 10 m, not breaking surf.CurrentSep 22, 2:39 PM PDT
NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard
Mixed west swell and south swellCurrentSep 22, 2:00 PM PDT
Santa Monica 9410840
MLLW high and low predictions; time shown is the end of available coverageCurrentSep 23, 8:01 PM PDT
Open-Meteo local wind
1/1 requested spots have usable local wind; NWS is tried only where this forecast is unusable.CurrentSep 22, 3:45 PM PDT

How best guesses are made

Best guesses combine usable wave and wind evidence, with qualitative confidence and specific limitations. A missing tide or local surf-height model does not prevent useful guidance. Tide levels use the named station datum; their effect at this break remains uncertain. Wind direction is relative to the mapped beach orientation, without calibrated terrain or shelter effects. The comparison is a heuristic, not a measured quality rating.