Goleta · Santa Barbara County · California
Ellwood Surf Report & Forecast, Goleta, California
Ellwood, Goleta, California: 3 ft, waist to chest high, at 12 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Good. The main swell is 2.0 ft at 15 seconds from the west-southwest, with a 5 mph onshore wind from the west-southwest. Water is about 74°F, so a rashguard is enough; the next low tide is -0.1 ft at 3:53 pm.
3 ft
waist to chest high · occasional 4 ft
- Swell
- 2.0 ft · 15 s · WSW
- Wind
- 5 mph (WSW)onshore
- Tide
- 3.6 ft fallinglow -0.1 ft at 3:53 pm
- Water
- 74°Frashguard
- Air
- 77°Ffeels like 73°F
- Sun
- rise 6:27 amset 4:59 pm
Ellwood surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Ellwood: 9 am, Good, on a falling 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 Ellwood: 8 am, Good, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3 ft | Good | calm | 5.0 ft |
| 7 am | 3 ft | Good | calm | 5.9 ft |
| 8 am | 3 ft | Good | calm | 6.5 ft |
| 9 am | 3 ft | Good | calm | 6.5 ft |
| 10 am | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 6.0 ft |
| 11 am | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 10 | 4.9 ft |
| 12 pmnow | 3 ft | Fair | 6 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 11 | 3.6 ft |
| 1 pm | 3 ft | Fair | 7 mph onshore (W), gusts 12 | 2.1 ft |
| 2 pm | 3 ft | Fair | 8 mph onshore (W), gusts 13 | 0.9 ft |
| 3 pm | 3 ft | Fair | 7 mph onshore (W), gusts 12 | 0.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W) | -0.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 11 | 4.6 ft |
| 7 am | 3 ft | Good | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 12 | 5.5 ft |
| 8 am | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 10 | 6.2 ft |
| 9 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 10 | 6.5 ft |
| 10 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (SE), gusts 10 | 6.2 ft |
| 11 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 5.4 ft |
| 12 pm | 2–3 ft | Good | calm | 4.2 ft |
| 1 pm | 2–3 ft | Good | calm | 2.9 ft |
| 2 pm | 3 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (W) | 1.5 ft |
| 3 pm | 3 ft | Good | 6 mph onshore (W) | 0.5 ft |
| 4 pm | 2–3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W) | -0.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 2–3 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 0.0 ft |
Ellwood waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 12 pm, sets at Ellwood arrive about every 4 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 3.5 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 4 minutes or so, each lasting about 31 s
- Lulls
- about 149 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
- 79% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- moderate, about 0.6 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Ellwood surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Ellwood: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 16 at 6–10 ft, and the best-rated day is Sunday, Nov 15 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 4–6 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 4–6 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Ellwood 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 ft | Good | 1.5 ft · 16 s · WSW | calm | 8 mph onshore (W), gusts 13 | 9 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 2–3 ft | Good | 2.5 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 10 | 5 mph onshore (W) | 8 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.8 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph offshore (E) | 4 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 9 | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 2–4 ft | Great | 1.7 ft · 13 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 12 | 8 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 4–6 ft | Great | 2.6 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 9 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 4–6 ft | Great | 3.3 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (NW) | 8 mph onshore (W) | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 4–6 ft | Great | 2.9 ft · 17 s · WSW | 7 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 13 | 8 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 13 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 6–10 ft | Good | 4.1 ft · 15 s · WSW | 13 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 22 | 16 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 27 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 6–8 ft | Great | — | 13 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 16 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 25 | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3–5 ft | Good | — | 12 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 19 mph cross-shore (NW) | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Ellwood are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Ellwood tide chart and tide times
Tides at Ellwood today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.7 ft at 2:17 am, high 6.6 ft at 8:36 am, low -0.1 ft at 3:53 pm and high 4.3 ft at 10:21 pm. At 12 pm the tide is 3.6 ft and falling.
Ellwood tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.7 ft at 2:17 amHigh 6.6 ft at 8:36 amLow -0.1 ft at 3:53 pmHigh 4.3 ft at 10:21 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 2.9 ft at 2:50 amHigh 6.5 ft at 9:04 amLow -0.1 ft at 4:25 pmHigh 4.0 ft at 11:06 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:15 amHigh 6.1 ft at 9:32 amLow 0.1 ft at 5:10 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 3.7 ft at 12:10 amLow 3.2 ft at 3:31 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:05 amLow 0.5 ft at 5:55 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 3.8 ft at 1:18 amLow 3.6 ft at 3:52 amHigh 5.8 ft at 10:42 amLow 0.8 ft at 6:46 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 3.9 ft at 3 amLow 3.9 ft at 4:29 amHigh 5.5 ft at 11:22 amLow 1.0 ft at 7:43 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.0 ft at 4:18 amLow 3.9 ft at 5:40 amHigh 5.0 ft at 12:12 pmLow 1.0 ft at 8:37 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.1 ft at 4:53 amLow 3.9 ft at 8:14 amHigh 4.5 ft at 1:25 pmLow 1.1 ft at 9:27 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.4 ft at 5:10 amLow 3.5 ft at 10:13 amHigh 4.2 ft at 2:51 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Ellwood water temperature
The water temperature at Ellwood is about 74°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 73°F and a 5 mph wind, a rashguard is enough. Over the next week the water stays between 72 and 74°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 Ellwood
- Sands Beach0.5 mi SSE · 3–4 ft · Good
- Coal Oil Point0.8 mi SE · 3 ft · Good
- Devereux0.9 mi ESE · 3 ft · Great
- Depressions1.9 mi ESE · 2–3 ft · Good
- Haskell's Beach1.9 mi WNW · 2–3 ft · Fair
- Campus Point2.7 mi E · 1–2 ft · Good
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Ellwood
Ellwood is a reef break in Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California, facing southwest. Also called Ellwood Bluffs.
Follow Ellwood 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.