Encinitas · San Diego County · California
Cardiff Reef Surf Report & Forecast, Encinitas, California
Cardiff Reef, Encinitas, California: 5–6 ft, head high, at 8 am PST on Tuesday, Nov 10, rated Great. The main swell is 3.3 ft at 13 seconds from the west, with calm wind. Water is about 75°F, so a rashguard is enough; the next high tide is 6.7 ft at 8:37 am.
5–6 ft
head high · occasional 7 ft
- Swell
- 3.3 ft · 13 s · Wplus 1.2 ft · 15 s · SW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 6.6 ft risinghigh 6.7 ft at 8:37 am
- Water
- 75°Frashguard
- Air
- 77°Ffeels like 78°F
- Sun
- rise 6:15 amset 4:51 pm
Cardiff Reef surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Cardiff Reef: 7 am, Great, on a rising high 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 Cardiff Reef: 9 am, Great, on a falling high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 5.2 ft |
| 7 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 8 amnow | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 6.6 ft |
| 9 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 6.7 ft |
| 10 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 11 am | 5 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 5.1 ft |
| 12 pm | 5–6 ft | Good | 6 mph onshore (W), gusts 11 | 3.7 ft |
| 1 pm | 4–5 ft | Fair | 7 mph onshore (W), gusts 12 | 2.3 ft |
| 2 pm | 4–5 ft | Fair | 8 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 14 | 1.1 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 11 | 0.3 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (NW) | 0.4 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 3 mph offshore (ENE) | 4.6 ft |
| 7 am | 4–5 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (ENE) | 5.5 ft |
| 8 am | 5 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (E) | 6.1 ft |
| 9 am | 5–6 ft | Great | 3 mph offshore (E) | 6.3 ft |
| 10 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Good | calm | 5.4 ft |
| 12 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (W) | 4.3 ft |
| 1 pm | 4–5 ft | Fair | 7 mph onshore (W), gusts 12 | 3.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 4–5 ft | Fair | 8 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 13 | 1.8 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 12 | 0.9 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 11 | 0.4 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (NW) | 0.4 ft |
Cardiff Reef waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 8 am, sets at Cardiff Reef arrive about every 4 minutes with about 3 waves each, and the waves are mostly spilling and crumbly.
- Set waves
- about 5.5 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 3
- Sets
- every 4 minutes or so, each lasting about 33 s
- Lulls
- about 108 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Spillingwhich means soft, crumbling whitewater
- Shape
- Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
- Breaking
- 94% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.5 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Cardiff Reef surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Cardiff Reef: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 7–10 ft, and the best-rated day is Friday, Nov 13 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 7–10 ft and Poor to Fair; Sunday, Nov 15, 7–9 ft and Great.
Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Cardiff Reef 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | 4–6 ft | Great | 3.9 ft · 14 s · W | calm | 8 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 14 | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 4–6 ft | Great | 2.9 ft · 13 s · W | 4 mph offshore (E) | 8 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 13 | 9 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 4–5 ft | Great | 2.8 ft · 13 s · W | 7 mph offshore (E), gusts 13 | 7 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 13 | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 5–8 ft | Great | 3.8 ft · 15 s · W | 8 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 14 | 8 mph onshore (SW) | 5 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 7–10 ft | Poor to Fair | 5.4 ft · 14 s · W | 10 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 15 | 12 mph onshore (W), gusts 17 | 10 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 7–9 ft | Great | 5.1 ft · 18 s · W | 7 mph offshore (ENE) | 6 mph onshore (W) | 10 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 5–7 ft | Great | 4.1 ft · 15 s · W | calm | 9 mph onshore (W), gusts 17 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 7–10 ft | Fair | — | 10 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 17 mph onshore (W) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 5–7 ft | Poor | — | 15 mph onshore (WNW) | 20 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 8–9 ft | Poor | — | 28 mph onshore (W), gusts 34 | 25 mph onshore (WNW) | 4 pm |
| Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Cardiff Reef are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Cardiff Reef tide chart and tide times
Tides at Cardiff Reef today, Tuesday, Nov 10: low 2.7 ft at 2:10 am, high 6.7 ft at 8:37 am, low 0.1 ft at 3:54 pm and high 4.3 ft at 10:18 pm. At 8 am the tide is 6.6 ft and rising.
Cardiff Reef tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 2.7 ft at 2:10 amHigh 6.7 ft at 8:37 amLow 0.1 ft at 3:54 pmHigh 4.3 ft at 10:18 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 2.9 ft at 2:44 amHigh 6.3 ft at 9:02 amLow 0.3 ft at 4:30 pmHigh 3.8 ft at 11:14 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 3.2 ft at 2:56 amHigh 6.2 ft at 9:35 amLow 0.8 ft at 5:14 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 3.8 ft at 12:16 amLow 3.5 ft at 3:18 amHigh 6.1 ft at 10:08 amLow 1.1 ft at 6:06 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 3.8 ft at 1:43 amLow 3.8 ft at 3:41 amHigh 5.6 ft at 10:45 amLow 1.2 ft at 7:04 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 5.0 ft at 11:35 amLow 1.2 ft at 8:03 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.0 ft at 4:33 amLow 3.9 ft at 7:03 amHigh 4.7 ft at 12:51 pmLow 1.4 ft at 8:58 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.4 ft at 4:44 amLow 3.7 ft at 9:39 amHigh 4.4 ft at 2:25 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Cardiff Reef water temperature
The water temperature at Cardiff Reef is about 75°F on Tuesday, Nov 10. With the air feeling like 78°F and a 1 mph wind, a rashguard is enough. Over the next week the water stays between 74 and 75°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 Cardiff Reef
- Pipes0.8 mi NNW · 4–5 ft · Great
- Seaside Reef0.8 mi S · 5–6 ft · Great
- Tabletops1.2 mi SSE · 5–6 ft · Great
- Fletcher Cove1.6 mi SSE · 6–7 ft · Great
- Swami's1.6 mi NNW · 4–5 ft · Good
- D Street2.2 mi NNW · 5–6 ft · Good
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Cardiff Reef
Cardiff Reef is a reef break in Encinitas, San Diego County, California, facing west-southwest. Also called Cardiff by the Sea.
Follow Cardiff Reef 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.