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Santa Monica Bay · Today

Sunset

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

When to go

Around 6:00 PM

Windy · Moderate confidence

1.7–1.7 ft · Coastal waves · not surf height

Wind: 10.7 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.

  • 5:00 PM–6:00 PM · America/Los_Angeles

    Unfavorable wind · up to 12.3 kt · reported gusts up to 15.7 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: 1.7–1.7 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data available; check the local tide response.

    Wind source time: Sep 22, 4:30 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 12.3 kt

Tide 4 ft rising

Wave, wind and tide details
CDIP coastal waveSSW 1.7 ft @ 15sECMWF forecast valid Sep 22, 5:00 PM PDTL0780 · significant wave height at 10.1 m depth · not breaking surfCDIP issued Sep 22, 2:37 PM PDT · upstream model cycle not providedSpectral split: ≥10 s 1.4 ft · <10 s 0.9 ft
Coastal period bands20 s and longer: 0.3 ft · energy-weighted direction 206°14–20 s: 1.1 ft · energy-weighted direction 206°10–14 s: 0.8 ft · energy-weighted direction 205°Under 10 s: 0.9 ft · energy-weighted direction 229°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 34.035, -118.553; not a local anemometerW 12.3 ktcross-shoreValid 2026-09-22 17:00 · America/Los_Angeles1.1 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 Sunset; 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 Sunset
TimeCoastal waves · ~10 mWindTideOffshore swell
SSW 1.8 ft @ 17sN 3.7 ktoffshore1.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.9 ft @ 17sNNE 4.2 ktoffshore1 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.9 ft @ 17sNNE 3 ktoffshore0.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.9 ft @ 17sNE 2.4 ktcross-shore1 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.8 ft @ 17sNE 2.6 ktcross-shore1.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.8 ft @ 17sNE 2.5 ktcross-shore2 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.8 ft @ 17sN 3.7 ktoffshore3 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sNE 3 ktcross-shore3.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sNE 2.6 ktcross-shore4 ftnear high— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sS 0.2 ktonshore4 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sSW 3.6 ktcross-shore3.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sSW 6.5 ktcross-shore3.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sWSW 8.4 ktcross-shore3 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sWSW 9.2 ktcross-shore2.5 ftnear low— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sWSW 11 ktcross-shore2.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 17sW 12.1 ktcross-shore3 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 15sW 12.5 ktcross-shore3.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 15sW 12.3 ktcross-shore4 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 15sW 10.7 ktcross-shore4.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SSW 1.7 ft @ 15sW 9.9 ktcross-shore5 ftnear high— Unavailable
SSW 1.8 ft @ 15sW 7 ktcross-shore5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.8 ft @ 15sW 5.9 ktcross-shore4 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 1.9 ft @ 15sW 1 ktcross-shore3.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SSW 2.0 ft @ 15sENE 5.7 ktcross-shore2.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindN 3.7 ktoffshoreTide1.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.9 ft coastal waves

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

WindNNE 4.2 ktoffshoreTide1 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.9 ft coastal waves

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

WindNNE 3 ktoffshoreTide0.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.9 ft coastal waves

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

WindNE 2.4 ktcross-shoreTide1 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindNE 2.6 ktcross-shoreTide1.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindNE 2.5 ktcross-shoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

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

WindN 3.7 ktoffshoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindNE 3 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindNE 2.6 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindS 0.2 ktonshoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindSW 3.6 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindSW 6.5 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 8.4 ktcross-shoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 9.2 ktcross-shoreTide2.5 ftnear lowOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 11 ktcross-shoreTide2.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindW 12.1 ktcross-shoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 12.5 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 12.3 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 10.7 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.7 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 9.9 ktcross-shoreTide5 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 7 ktcross-shoreTide5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.8 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 5.9 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
1.9 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindW 1 ktcross-shoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.0 ft coastal waves

SSW 15s · ECMWF forecast · about 10 m depth, not breaking surf.

WindENE 5.7 ktcross-shoreTide2.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

Tide

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

Tide height by hour for Sunset. Approximate interpolation between predicted high and low events. Heights range from 0.5 to 5 feet.

Interpolated tide height Recommended window
About this spot

Sheltered bay exposure favors cleaner, longer-period energy.

Mapped spot coordinate: 34.035, -118.553.

Model request point: Santa Monica Bay (33.985, -118.4695). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

CDIP L0780: 34.0308, -118.5527 · 10.06 m depth · 169° shore normal · shore type 2 · 811 m transect. Shoreline endpoint at Sunset Boulevard, 34.03799, -118.55437. South-facing 169° transect across complex bathymetry; distinct from the 151° Topanga transect farther west. 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.