Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz County · California
Cowells Cove Surf Report & Forecast, Santa Cruz, California
Cowells Cove, Santa Cruz, California: 2 ft, knee to waist high, at 8 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 3.7 ft at 13 seconds from the west-southwest, with a 5 mph offshore wind from the north, gusting 11 mph. Water is about 67°F, so a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 4.2 ft at 11:25 pm.
2 ft
knee to waist high · occasional 3 ft
- Swell
- 3.7 ft · 13 s · WSW
- Wind
- 5 mph (N), gusts 11offshore
- Tide
- 2.1 ft risinghigh 4.2 ft at 11:25 pm
- Water
- 67°F3/2
- Air
- 62°Ffeels like 58°F
- Sun
- rise 6:40 amset 5:03 pm
Cowells Cove surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Cowells Cove: 8 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 Cowells Cove: 3 pm, Good, on a falling low tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2–3 ft | Great | calm | 4.2 ft |
| 7 am | 3 ft | Great | calm | 5.1 ft |
| 8 am | 4–5 ft | Great | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 9 am | 4 ft | Great | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 10 am | 3–4 ft | Great | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 2–3 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (SW) | 5.5 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 10 | 4.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 1–2 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 11 | 3.1 ft |
| 2 pm | 2–3 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (NW), gusts 10 | 1.7 ft |
| 3 pm | 2 ft | Great | 5 mph offshore (NW), gusts 10 | 0.6 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph offshore (N), gusts 12 | -0.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 2–3 ft | Great | 6 mph offshore (NNE), gusts 11 | -0.1 ft |
| 6 pm | 2–3 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 10 | 0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1 ft | Fair | calm | 3.9 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Good | calm | 5.4 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Fair | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 12 pm | 1–2 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 10 | 5.0 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 12 | 3.8 ft |
| 2 pm | 1–2 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 2.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 1–2 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 1.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 1–2 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 10 | 0.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 1–2 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (NNW) | -0.2 ft |
Cowells Cove waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 8 pm, sets at Cowells Cove arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and soft.
- Set waves
- about 2.3 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 38 s
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Softwhich means mostly mellow, with occasional steeper sections
- Breaking
- 1% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- moderate, about 1 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Cowells Cove surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Cowells Cove: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 4–7 ft, and the best-rated day is Saturday, Nov 14 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 4–7 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 1–6 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Cowells Cove 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 | 1–5 ft | Great | 6.1 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph offshore (NW), gusts 10 | 8 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 1–2 ft | Good | 3.4 ft · 13 s · WSW | calm | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 3 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 1–2 ft | Good | 3.4 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (ENE), gusts 11 | 4 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 10 | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 1–3 ft | Great | 3.3 ft · 14 s · WSW | calm | 7 mph onshore (S), gusts 15 | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 1–5 ft | Fair | 5.7 ft · 15 s · WSW | 9 mph onshore (SSE), gusts 14 | 17 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 24 | 11 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 4–7 ft | Great | 8.7 ft · 15 s · WSW | 4 mph offshore (NW) | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 13 | 4 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 1–6 ft | Great | 6.9 ft · 16 s · WSW | 4 mph onshore (SE) | 9 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 16 | 10 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 3–5 ft | Great | 7.1 ft · 18 s · WSW | 11 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 24 | 14 mph offshore (NW), gusts 28 | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 1–2 ft | Good | — | 5 mph cross-shore (NE) | 8 mph offshore (NW) | 4 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1–2 ft | Good | — | 14 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 22 | 17 mph offshore (NW), gusts 23 | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Cowells Cove are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Cowells Cove tide chart and tide times
Tides at Cowells Cove today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.9 ft at 3:13 am, high 6.3 ft at 9:19 am, low -0.2 ft at 4:42 pm and high 4.2 ft at 11:25 pm. At 8 pm the tide is 2.1 ft and rising.
Cowells Cove tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.9 ft at 3:13 amHigh 6.3 ft at 9:19 amLow -0.2 ft at 4:42 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 11:25 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:46 amHigh 6.2 ft at 9:50 amLow -0.2 ft at 5:18 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.1 ft at 12:16 amLow 3.2 ft at 4:12 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:23 amLow 0.0 ft at 6:01 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.1 ft at 1:15 amLow 3.6 ft at 4:45 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:57 amLow 0.4 ft at 6:45 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.2 ft at 2:16 amLow 3.9 ft at 5:22 amHigh 5.9 ft at 11:36 amLow 0.7 ft at 7:33 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.3 ft at 3:19 amLow 4.0 ft at 6:15 amHigh 5.5 ft at 12:16 pmLow 0.7 ft at 8:24 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.2 ft at 4:21 amLow 4.0 ft at 7:34 amHigh 5.0 ft at 1:07 pmLow 0.8 ft at 9:16 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.2 ft at 5:05 amLow 3.6 ft at 9:22 amHigh 4.4 ft at 2:08 pmLow 0.7 ft at 10:01 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.3 ft at 5:37 amLow 3.2 ft at 10:53 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Cowells Cove water temperature
The water temperature at Cowells Cove is about 67°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 58°F and a 5 mph wind, a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 67 and 69°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 Cowells Cove
- San Lorenzo Rivermouth0.5 mi E · 2–3 ft · Good
- Steamer Lane0.7 mi S · 4–5 ft · Good
- Its Beach0.8 mi SSW · 5–6 ft · Great
- Mitchell's Cove1.2 mi SW · 3 ft · Poor to Fair
- Santa Cruz Harbour1.3 mi E · 4 ft · Good
- Swift Street1.7 mi WSW · 4–5 ft · Poor
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Cowells Cove
Cowells Cove is a cove in Santa Cruz County, California, facing south-southeast. Also called Cowell's, Cowells Beach and Santa Cruz Wharf.
Follow Cowells Cove 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.