Central and South San Diego · Wednesday, Sep 23

Imperial Beach

Updated Tue, Sep 22, 5:30 PM PDT

When to go

9:00 AM–11:00 AM

Looks good · Low confidence

3.2–3.3 ft · Offshore waves · not face height

Wind: 4.4 kt · direction unavailable

Forecast details

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 3.2 kt · reported gusts up to 5.2 kt
Offshore waves: 3.1–3.3 ft across the period. Surf height unavailable. Tide data available; check the local tide response.
Wind source time: Sep 22, 4:45 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.

Forecast confidence

Returned marine grid point is 3.9 km from the mapped spot. Provider grid resolution is not established for this response.
Reference model hour: 14 hours from now; historical residuals do not measure forecast lead-time error.
No accepted local model for these inputs: missing history, unsupported direction/period/height, or failed historical validation.
A mapped coordinate does not establish nearshore grid resolution or terrain/shelter accuracy.

Wind NE 3.2 kt

Tide 4.5 ft near high

Wave, wind and tide details

Offshore model swellW 2.0 ft @ 9sValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/Los_AngelesMarine grid 32.6250, -117.1250 · offshore model, not a local measurement

Offshore model sea3.1 ft @ 9.9sSignificant wave height including wind waves and swell; not breaking surfValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/Los_Angeles

Model windNE 3.2 ktcross-shoreValid 2026-09-23 08:00 · America/Los_Angeles2.2 kt offshore component

Tide4.5 ftnear highNOAA IMPERIAL BEACH, PACIFIC OCEAN 9410120 · 1 km from spot · predicted height relative to MLLWRetrieved Sep 22, 5:31 PM PDT · provider issue time unavailable93% of adjacent local low–high range · descriptive, not a safety rating

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

Surf and wind

Recommended window: No recommended window

Breaking surf is not reliably resolved. Hourly offshore swell and wind inputs are listed below.

Hourly forecast

Hourly surf forecast for Imperial Beach
Time	Wind	Tide	Offshore swell
12 AM	N 4.7 ktcross-shore	2 ftfalling	W 2.5 ft @ 4s
1 AM	N 4.3 ktcross-shore	1 ftfalling	W 2.4 ft @ 4s
2 AM	NNE 4 ktcross-shore	0.5 ftnear low	W 2.4 ft @ 4s
3 AM	NNE 4.1 ktcross-shore	1 ftrising	W 2.3 ft @ 4s
4 AM	NNE 3.6 ktcross-shore	1.5 ftrising	W 2.3 ft @ 4s
5 AM	NE 3 ktoffshore	2 ftrising	W 2.2 ft @ 5s
6 AM	ENE 3.6 ktoffshore	3 ftrising	W 2.2 ft @ 6s
7 AM	NE 3.1 ktoffshore	3.5 ftrising	W 2.1 ft @ 8s
8 AM	NE 3.2 ktcross-shore	4.5 ftnear high	W 2.0 ft @ 9s
9 AM	N 2.3 ktcross-shore	4.5 ftfalling	W 2.2 ft @ 8s
10 AM	NW 2.7 ktonshore	3.5 ftfalling	W 2.4 ft @ 7s
11 AM	WNW 4.4 ktonshore	3 ftfalling	W 2.6 ft @ 5s
Noon	W 6.4 ktonshore	2.5 ftfalling	W 2.6 ft @ 5s
1 PM	WSW 7.5 ktonshore	2 ftfalling	W 2.6 ft @ 5s
2 PM	WSW 7.3 ktonshore	2 ftrising	W 2.6 ft @ 5s
3 PM	WSW 6.5 ktonshore	2.5 ftrising	W 2.5 ft @ 5s
4 PM	WSW 6.7 ktonshore	3 ftrising	W 2.5 ft @ 5s
5 PM	WSW 6.3 ktonshore	3.5 ftrising	W 2.4 ft @ 5s
6 PM	WSW 4.3 ktonshore	4.5 ftrising	WSW 2.2 ft @ 7s
7 PM	WSW 3 ktonshore	5 ftrising	SW 2.0 ft @ 9s
8 PM	W 2.3 ktonshore	5.5 ftfalling	SSW 1.8 ft @ 11s
9 PM	SW 1.6 ktonshore	4.5 ftfalling	SW 2.0 ft @ 11s
10 PM	SW 2.2 ktcross-shore	4 ftfalling	WSW 2.0 ft @ 10s
11 PM	WSW 1.7 ktonshore	3 ftfalling	W 2.2 ft @ 9s

12 AMUnavailable

WindN 4.7 ktcross-shoreTide2 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.5 ft @ 4s

1 AMUnavailable

WindN 4.3 ktcross-shoreTide1 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.4 ft @ 4s

2 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 4 ktcross-shoreTide0.5 ftnear lowOffshore swellW 2.4 ft @ 4s

3 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 4.1 ktcross-shoreTide1 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.3 ft @ 4s

4 AMUnavailable

WindNNE 3.6 ktcross-shoreTide1.5 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.3 ft @ 4s

5 AMUnavailable

WindNE 3 ktoffshoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.2 ft @ 5s

6 AMUnavailable

WindENE 3.6 ktoffshoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.2 ft @ 6s

7 AMUnavailable

WindNE 3.1 ktoffshoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.1 ft @ 8s

8 AMUnavailable

WindNE 3.2 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftnear highOffshore swellW 2.0 ft @ 9s

9 AMUnavailable

WindN 2.3 ktcross-shoreTide4.5 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.2 ft @ 8s

10 AMUnavailable

WindNW 2.7 ktonshoreTide3.5 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.4 ft @ 7s

11 AMUnavailable

WindWNW 4.4 ktonshoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.6 ft @ 5s

NoonUnavailable

WindW 6.4 ktonshoreTide2.5 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.6 ft @ 5s

1 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 7.5 ktonshoreTide2 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.6 ft @ 5s

2 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 7.3 ktonshoreTide2 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.6 ft @ 5s

3 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 6.5 ktonshoreTide2.5 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.5 ft @ 5s

4 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 6.7 ktonshoreTide3 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.5 ft @ 5s

5 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 6.3 ktonshoreTide3.5 ftrisingOffshore swellW 2.4 ft @ 5s

6 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 4.3 ktonshoreTide4.5 ftrisingOffshore swellWSW 2.2 ft @ 7s

7 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 3 ktonshoreTide5 ftrisingOffshore swellSW 2.0 ft @ 9s

8 PMUnavailable

WindW 2.3 ktonshoreTide5.5 ftfallingOffshore swellSSW 1.8 ft @ 11s

9 PMUnavailable

WindSW 1.6 ktonshoreTide4.5 ftfallingOffshore swellSW 2.0 ft @ 11s

10 PMUnavailable

WindSW 2.2 ktcross-shoreTide4 ftfallingOffshore swellWSW 2.0 ft @ 10s

11 PMUnavailable

WindWSW 1.7 ktonshoreTide3 ftfallingOffshore swellW 2.2 ft @ 9s

Tide

NOAA IMPERIAL BEACH, PACIFIC OCEAN 9410120 · 1 km from spot · MLLW

Interpolated tide height Recommended window

About this spot

Model-grid forecast requested at the mapped coordinate; reef, headland, and nearshore transformations are unresolved. Beach break.

Mapped spot coordinate: 32.59, -117.13.

Mainland · Coast not verified · Ocean-facing bearing 270° · Location provenance

Model request point: Imperial Beach (32.59, -117.13). Model output times describe valid conditions; the provider does not expose the model run issue time in this response.

Forecast sources

Data coverage 3/5 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.

Coverage tier A · US_CA · spot-level model point

Official breaking-surf report not connected for Central and South San DiegoUnavailableUnavailable · Unavailable

US National Weather Service Surf Zone Forecast
No current San Diego County period covers this spot and local date.UnavailableNo source time
Coastal Data Information Program THREDDS
No current assigned CDIP nearshore observation covers this spot.UnavailableNo source time
NOAA NDBC real-time station files
Current buoy observations are not forecasts for the selected future date.Not applicableNo source time
NOAA CO-OPS Tides and Currents API
NOAA IMPERIAL BEACH, PACIFIC OCEAN 9410120 · 1 km from spot; predicted high/low events above MLLW, converted to feet. Timestamp is retrieval time; provider issue time is not supplied.CurrentSep 22, 5:31 PM PDT
Open-Meteo Marine API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 4:45 PM PDT
Open-Meteo Weather API
1 of 1 configured model points availableCurrentSep 22, 4:45 PM PDT
Surf-Forecast public pages
Spot discovery and break-specific HTML fallbackNot applicableNo source time
Surfline public spot pages
Break-specific comparison, cams, and metadataNot applicableNo source time

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.