Surf forecast · United States · Southern California
Surf forecast Cardiff Reef today
Waves, swell and wind at Cardiff Reef (Southern California, United States) today and for the next 3 days, every 3 hours of daylight, with a plain verdict per day — flat, small, fun, good or big, offshore or onshore — and the best window to paddle out.
These numbers are more than 7 hours old, so they are hidden. Open the live waves map for the current sea. Open the waves map centred on Cardiff Reef
Right now
Fun onshore.
Cardiff Reef surf forecast, next 3 days
- Flat
- Small
- Fun
- Good
- Big
Saturday 24 October
Fun Best window 12:00–15:00: fun, onshore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | 1.0 m · 10 s ↑WSW | 0.6 m · 8 s ↑WSW | 15–17 km/h ↑WSW onshore |
| 15:00 | 1.0 m · 10 s ↑WSW | 0.6 m · 13 s ↑SSW | 15–17 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
Sunday 25 October
Small Best window 07:00–10:00: small, light wind.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 0.8 m · 11 s ↑SW | 0.6 m · 12 s ↑SSW | 6–7 km/h ↑E light wind |
| 12:00 | 0.7 m · 12 s ↑SW | 0.6 m · 12 s ↑SSW | 12–13 km/h ↑W onshore |
| 15:00 | 0.7 m · 11 s ↑SW | 0.6 m · 12 s ↑SSW | 17–20 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
Monday 26 October
Small Best window 07:00–10:00: small, light wind.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 0.7 m · 11 s ↑SW | 0.6 m · 12 s ↑SSW | 9–5 km/h ↑NW cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 0.7 m · 12 s ↑SW | 0.5 m · 11 s ↑SSW | 12–7 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
| 15:00 | 0.7 m · 11 s ↑SW | 0.5 m · 11 s ↑SSW | 19–16 km/h ↑WNW onshore |
Tuesday 27 October
Fun Best window 07:00–10:00: fun, light wind.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 0.9 m · 10 s ↑WSW | 0.7 m · 4 s ↑W | 6–9 km/h ↑SSE light wind |
| 12:00 | 0.9 m · 10 s ↑WSW | 0.7 m · 4 s ↑W | 11–11 km/h ↑SSW cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 0.9 m · 10 s ↑WSW | 0.6 m · 7 s ↑WSW | 15–13 km/h ↑WSW onshore |
Every 3 hours of daylight, local time. Waves = significant height of the whole sea, with the peak period; swell = the long-period part. Arrows point where the waves and the wind are going.
Forecast for Sat 12:00 local time · updated 2026-10-24 19:11 UTC
Waves map around Cardiff Reef
Open the waves map centred on Cardiff Reef
Live significant wave height from NOAA WaveWatch III, averaged over 2° cells: coarser than the forecast above, so near the coast it can differ from it.
More about Cardiff Reef
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Questions
- Is there surf at Cardiff Reef today?
- Fun: waves 1.0 m at 10 s from WSW, swell 0.6 m · 8 s WSW (Sat 12:00).
- Is the wind offshore at Cardiff Reef?
- Wind 15 km/h from WSW: onshore for a beach facing W.
- When is the best time to surf Cardiff Reef today?
- 12:00–15:00 (fun, onshore)
- How warm is the water at Cardiff Reef?
- 23.7 °C
- Where do the numbers come from?
- The Open-Meteo Marine API (wave models of Météo-France, ECMWF and NOAA) for a point just off the beach, and the Open-Meteo forecast for the wind. A model at sea, not a surf report: sandbanks, reefs and tide shape the waves you actually get.
Nearby surf spots
Swamis (Encinitas) 3 km · Del Mar 6 km · Blacks Beach 14 km · Carlsbad 18 km · Windansea (La Jolla) 20 km · Oceanside 22 km
How it is computed
Hourly Open-Meteo Marine forecast (wave height, peak period and direction, swell) at a point just off Cardiff Reef, and the Open-Meteo wind at 10 m. Size: flat under 0.3 m, small under 0.8 m, fun under 1.5 m, good under 2.5 m (with a period of 8 s or more), big above. Wind: under 8 km/h light; otherwise offshore, cross-shore or onshore from its angle to the direction the beach faces. The best window is the 3 daylight hours with the best mix of size, period and wind. Rebuilt every 3 hours. Live map.