Mendocino · Mendocino County · California
Big River Surf Report & Forecast, Mendocino, California
Big River, Mendocino, California: 3–4 ft, chest high, at 12 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Good. The main swell is 10.2 ft at 13 seconds from the west-northwest, with calm wind. Water is about 63°F, so a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next low tide is -0.5 ft at 5:17 pm.
3–4 ft
chest high · occasional 5 ft
- Swell
- 10.2 ft · 13 s · WNW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 5.5 ft fallinglow -0.5 ft at 5:17 pm
- Water
- 63°F3/2
- Air
- 63°Ffeels like 63°F
- Sun
- rise 6:52 amset 5:06 pm
Big River surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Big River: 6 pm, Great, on a falling low tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at Big River: 7 am, Great, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 4–5 ft | Great | calm | 3.8 ft |
| 7 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 4.7 ft |
| 8 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 5.6 ft |
| 9 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 6.3 ft |
| 10 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 6.6 ft |
| 11 am | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 10 | 6.3 ft |
| 12 pmnow | 3 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 10 | 5.5 ft |
| 1 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 4.1 ft |
| 2 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 2.6 ft |
| 3 pm | 5–7 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 1.1 ft |
| 4 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (W) | 0.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 7–8 ft | Great | calm | -0.5 ft |
| 6 pm | 7–8 ft | Great | calm | -0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 6–7 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (E) | 3.5 ft |
| 7 am | 6–8 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (E) | 4.2 ft |
| 8 am | 5–6 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (ENE) | 5.1 ft |
| 9 am | 4 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (ENE) | 5.9 ft |
| 10 am | 4–5 ft | Great | calm | 6.4 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (NW) | 6.4 ft |
| 12 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 11 | 5.9 ft |
| 1 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 11 | 4.8 ft |
| 2 pm | 7–8 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 12 | 3.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 6–8 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 14 | 1.9 ft |
| 4 pm | 7–8 ft | Great | 6 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 12 | 0.6 ft |
| 5 pm | 6–8 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 11 | -0.2 ft |
| 6 pm | 6–7 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 10 | -0.5 ft |
Big River waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 12 pm, sets at Big River arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 4.0 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 38 s
- Lulls
- about 187 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Punchywhich means steep takeoffs and a pitching lip
- Breaking
- 33% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- moderate, about 1.1 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Big River surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Big River: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 5–13 ft, and the best-rated day is Saturday, Nov 14 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 5–13 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 4–9 ft and Fair.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Big River are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 3–8 ft | Great | 12.4 ft · 15 s · WNW | calm | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 6 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 4–8 ft | Great | 7.5 ft · 12 s · W | 4 mph offshore (ENE) | 6 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 12 | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 3–8 ft | Great | 7.9 ft · 13 s · WNW | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 12 | 6 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 13 | 6 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 3–9 ft | Great | 9.0 ft · 15 s · W | 8 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 16 | 15 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 33 | 8 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 4–11 ft | Good | 10.4 ft · 14 s · W | 10 mph cross-shore (SSE), gusts 22 | 17 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 36 | 6 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 5–13 ft | Great | 13.1 ft · 15 s · W | 9 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 20 | 12 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 27 | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 4–9 ft | Fair | 10.3 ft · 16 s · W | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 16 | 10 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 22 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 8–13 ft | Great | 7.8 ft · 15 s · WSW | 9 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 17 | 9 mph onshore (W), gusts 17 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4–5 ft | Great | — | 7 mph offshore (NNE) | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 4–6 ft | Fair | — | 18 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 24 | 17 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 22 | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Big River are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Big River tide chart and tide times
Tides at Big River today, Monday, Nov 9: low 3.1 ft at 4:06 am, high 6.6 ft at 9:59 am and low -0.5 ft at 5:17 pm. At 12 pm the tide is 5.5 ft and falling.
Big River tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 3.1 ft at 4:06 amHigh 6.6 ft at 9:59 amLow -0.5 ft at 5:17 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | High 4.8 ft at 12:05 amLow 3.2 ft at 4:38 amHigh 6.5 ft at 10:33 amLow -0.5 ft at 5:53 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.8 ft at 12:51 amLow 3.4 ft at 5:09 amHigh 6.5 ft at 11:05 amLow -0.2 ft at 6:33 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.8 ft at 1:41 amLow 3.8 ft at 5:45 amHigh 6.5 ft at 11:41 amLow 0.2 ft at 7:15 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.9 ft at 2:29 amLow 4.1 ft at 6:27 amHigh 6.3 ft at 12:17 pmLow 0.5 ft at 8 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.9 ft at 3:27 amLow 4.3 ft at 7:15 amHigh 6.1 ft at 12:59 pmLow 0.8 ft at 8:48 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 5.0 ft at 4:20 amLow 4.3 ft at 8:29 amHigh 5.6 ft at 1:44 pmLow 0.8 ft at 9:39 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.8 ft at 5:15 amLow 3.9 ft at 9:51 amHigh 4.9 ft at 2:48 pmLow 0.9 ft at 10:24 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 5.0 ft at 5:54 amLow 3.6 ft at 11:19 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Big River water temperature
The water temperature at Big River is about 63°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 63°F and a 2 mph wind, a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 63 and 64°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near Big River
- Caspar Cove4.3 mi NNW · 4–5 ft · Great
- Albion River Mouth5.3 mi SSE · 2–3 ft · Good
- Navarro River Mouth8.0 mi SSE · 9–10 ft · Great
- Hare Creek8.1 mi N · 4–5 ft · Great
- Noyo Harbor / River Mouth8.9 mi N · 0–1 ft · Poor
- Pudding Creek11 mi N · 9–11 ft · Great
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Big River
Big River is a rivermouth in Mendocino County, California, facing west-southwest. Also called Mendocino Headlands.
Follow Big River in the Current app
The first 10 days are free, and Premium adds days 11–16.
Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.