Tide times Santa Barbara
When is high tide in Santa Barbara today, and when is the next low tide? The table below gives the high and low waters for today and the next two days in local time, recomputed every time you open the page.
The tide right now
Tide table computed on 2026-10-16 14:07 UTC. Updating live…
High and low tides, next 3 days
| Day | Tide | Time | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 16 October | High tide | 12:39 | +0.57 m |
| Low tide | 21:46 | −0.65 m | |
| Saturday 17 October | High tide | 13:32 | +0.46 m |
| Low tide | 22:53 | −0.65 m | |
| Sunday 18 October | High tide | 08:20 | +0.27 m |
| Low tide | 10:18 | +0.27 m | |
| High tide | 15:14 | +0.37 m | |
| Low tide | 23:44 | −0.66 m |
Times in local time (America/Los_Angeles). Heights in metres above (+) or below (−) mean sea level, not chart datum.
Tide map around Santa Barbara
Each dot is a port, coloured by where its water stands between its own low and high; tap the sea anywhere for the level and the curve.
Sea conditions at Santa Barbara
Wave height · Swell · Wind
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The tide at Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara has two high and two low tides a day, of quite different heights. The tidal range is typically about 1.2 m at neap tides and 2.5 m at spring tides, around new and full moon. The prediction is for the sea just off Santa Barbara (34.25°, -119.75°).
Questions
- What time is high tide in Santa Barbara today?
- The table above lists today's high and low tides in Santa Barbara in local time (America/Los_Angeles), followed by the next two days. It is recomputed from the tide model every time the page is opened.
- Is the tide coming in or going out in Santa Barbara right now?
- The "Sea level now" box says whether the water is rising (coming in) or falling (going out), with the next high and the next low tide beside it.
- Why are the heights different from the harbour tide table?
- Here heights are measured from mean sea level, so low tides are negative. Official tide tables measure from chart datum, close to the lowest possible tide, so their numbers are larger; the times and the range between high and low are what to compare.
- Can I use these tide times for navigation?
- No. They come from a global tide model and can differ from the official local prediction by a few tens of minutes and centimetres, more in estuaries and narrow bays, and they leave out the effect of wind and air pressure. For navigation use the official tide tables of the harbour authority.
Tide times nearby
Santa Monica · Morro Bay · Long Beach · Huntington Beach · La Jolla · San Diego
How these tide times are computed
The tide is predicted with the EOT20 global ocean tide model (DGFI-TUM, CC-BY 4.0) from nine harmonic constituents (M2, S2, N2, K2, K1, O1, P1, Q1, M4) at the model point closest to Santa Barbara, on a 0.25° grid, with the astronomical arguments and nodal corrections for each hour. High and low waters are the turning points of the hourly curve, refined between the hours. Storm surge, wind and air pressure are not included. The same model drives the live tide map.