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Malibu · Right now

Malibu First Point

LA County surf-zone forecast; official range: 2–4 ft

When to go

Around 6:00 PM

Windy · Moderate confidence

1.8–1.8 ft · Coastal waves · not surf height

Wind: 12.7 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.

  • At 6:00 PM · America/Los_Angeles

    Unfavorable wind · up to 12.7 kt · reported gusts up to 15.6 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: 1.8–1.8 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data available; check the local tide response.

    Wind source time: Sep 22, 5:00 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 W 13.4 kt

Tide 4 ft rising

Wave, wind and tide details
CDIP coastal waveS 1.8 ft @ 17sECMWF forecast valid Sep 22, 5:00 PM PDTL0904 · significant wave height at 10.0 m depth · not breaking surfCDIP issued Sep 22, 2:38 PM PDT · upstream model cycle not providedSpectral split: ≥10 s 1.6 ft · <10 s 0.8 ft
Coastal period bands20 s and longer: 0.5 ft · energy-weighted direction 173°14–20 s: 1.2 ft · energy-weighted direction 174°10–14 s: 0.9 ft · energy-weighted direction 174°Under 10 s: 0.8 ft · energy-weighted direction 202°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 34.036, -118.678; not a local anemometerW 13.4 ktcross-shoreValid 2026-09-22 17:00 · America/Los_Angeles6.8 kt offshore 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.

Coastal significant wave height and wind by hour for Malibu First Point; not breaking surf.

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 Malibu First Point
TimeCoastal waves · ~10 mWindTideOffshore swell
S 1.8 ft @ 17sW 13.4 ktcross-shore4 ftrising— Unavailable
S 1.8 ft @ 17sW 12.7 ktcross-shore4.5 ftrising— Unavailable
S 1.8 ft @ 17sW 9.6 ktcross-shore5 ftnear high— Unavailable
S 1.8 ft @ 17sWNW 7.2 ktoffshore5 ftfalling— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindW 13.4 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindW 12.7 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindW 9.6 ktcross-shoreTide5 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindWNW 7.2 ktoffshoreTide5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

Tide

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

Tide height by hour for Malibu First Point. Approximate interpolation between predicted high and low events. Heights range from 4 to 5 feet.

Interpolated tide height Recommended window
About this spot

Sheltered point configuration favors southerly energy.

Mapped spot coordinate: 34.036, -118.678.

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 L0904: 34.0291, -118.6774 · 10.01 m depth · 141° shore normal · shore type 2 · 371 m transect. CDIP named Malibu Lagoon transect on the Surfrider headland, southeast-facing 141° normal and complex bathymetry. A coastal boundary for the First Point report, not a prediction at its inner takeoff or a substitute for the west-facing Zuma coast. 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.

LA County surf-zone forecast2–4 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.    Current
  • NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard
    Mixed west swell and south swell    Current
  • Santa Monica 9410840
    MLLW high and low predictions; time shown is the end of available coverage    Current
  • Open-Meteo local wind
    1/1 requested spots have usable local wind; NWS is tried only where this forecast is unusable.    Current
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.