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Santa Monica Bay · Wednesday, Sep 23

Venice Breakwater

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

When to go

9:00 AM–11:00 AM

Looks good · Moderate confidence

2.5–2.5 ft · Coastal waves · not surf height

Wind: 5.7 kt · direction unavailable

Forecast details
  • Waves are forecast to reach this beach.
  • Light wind should keep the water smoother.
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.

  • 8:00 AM–10:00 AM · America/Los_Angeles

    Light wind · up to 2.9 kt · reported gusts up to 2.9 kt

    Coastal waves at about 10 m depth: 2.5–2.5 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 ENE 1.8 kt

Tide 4 ft near high

Wave, wind and tide details
CDIP coastal waveSW 2.5 ft @ 15sECMWF forecast valid Sep 23, 8:00 AM PDTL0681 · significant wave height at 10.0 m depth · not breaking surfCDIP issued Sep 22, 2:37 PM PDT · upstream model cycle not providedSpectral split: ≥10 s 2.3 ft · <10 s 1.1 ft
Coastal period bands20 s and longer: 0.5 ft · energy-weighted direction 229°14–20 s: 1.9 ft · energy-weighted direction 227°10–14 s: 1.2 ft · energy-weighted direction 225°Under 10 s: 1.1 ft · energy-weighted direction 240°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 33.985, -118.474; not a local anemometerENE 1.8 ktoffshoreValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/Los_Angeles1.4 kt offshore component
Tide4 ftnear highSanta Monica station 9410840 · regional proxy, interpolated between station extrema · predicted height relative to MLLW90% 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 Venice Breakwater; 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 Venice Breakwater
TimeCoastal waves · ~10 mWindTideOffshore swell
SW 2.6 ft @ 17sE 3.4 ktoffshore2 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.7 ft @ 17sENE 3.4 ktoffshore1 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.7 ft @ 17sENE 3.3 ktoffshore0.5 ftnear low— Unavailable
SW 2.7 ft @ 17sENE 3.1 ktoffshore0.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.6 ft @ 15sENE 3.1 ktoffshore1.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.6 ft @ 15sENE 2.9 ktoffshore2 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.6 ft @ 15sENE 3.1 ktoffshore3 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.6 ft @ 15sENE 3.3 ktoffshore3.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sENE 1.8 ktoffshore4 ftnear high— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sSSE 0.4 ktcross-shore4.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sWSW 2.9 ktonshore4 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sWSW 5.7 ktonshore3.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sWSW 6.5 ktonshore3 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sWSW 7 ktonshore2.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.5 ft @ 15sWSW 7.9 ktonshore2 ftnear low— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sWSW 8.1 ktonshore2.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sWSW 7.1 ktonshore3 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sWSW 6.3 ktonshore3.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sSW 4.9 ktonshore4.5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sSW 4.7 ktonshore5 ftrising— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sWSW 3.4 ktonshore5.5 ftnear high— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sW 1.4 ktcross-shore4.5 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sENE 1.8 ktoffshore4 ftfalling— Unavailable
SW 2.4 ft @ 15sNE 2.1 ktoffshore3 ftfalling— Unavailable
2.6 ft coastal waves

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

WindE 3.4 ktoffshoreTide2 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 3.4 ktoffshoreTide1 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 3.3 ktoffshoreTide0.5 ftnear lowOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.7 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 3.1 ktoffshoreTide0.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.6 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 3.1 ktoffshoreTide1.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.6 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 2.9 ktoffshoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.6 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 3.1 ktoffshoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.6 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 3.3 ktoffshoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 1.8 ktoffshoreTide4 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindSSE 0.4 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 2.9 ktonshoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 5.7 ktonshoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 6.5 ktonshoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 7 ktonshoreTide2.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.5 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 7.9 ktonshoreTide2 ftnear lowOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 8.1 ktonshoreTide2.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 7.1 ktonshoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 6.3 ktonshoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindSW 4.9 ktonshoreTide4.5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindSW 4.7 ktonshoreTide5 ftrisingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindWSW 3.4 ktonshoreTide5.5 ftnear highOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindW 1.4 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindENE 1.8 ktoffshoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable
2.4 ft coastal waves

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

WindNE 2.1 ktoffshoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swell— Unavailable

Tide

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

Tide height by hour for Venice Breakwater. Approximate interpolation between predicted high and low events. Heights range from 0.5 to 5.5 feet.

Interpolated tide height Recommended window
About this spot

Breakwater exposure with a broad southwest-to-west swell window.

Mapped spot coordinate: 33.985, -118.474.

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 L0681: 33.9792, -118.4800 · 10.02 m depth · 217° shore normal · shore type 2 · 805 m transect. Shoreline endpoint 33.98496, -118.47475 adjoins the catalog breakwater location. Southwest 217° transect with complex bathymetry; L0685 lands several hundred metres north despite its matching offshore latitude. Structure-scale breaking remains unresolved. 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 2026-09-23; 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.