Montara · San Mateo County · California
Gray Whale Cove Surf Report & Forecast, Montara, California
Gray Whale Cove, Montara, California: 7–8 ft, overhead, at 7 am PST on Tuesday, Nov 10, rated Good. The main swell is 5.4 ft at 13 seconds from the west, with a 5 mph cross-shore wind from the north. Water is about 63°F, so a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 6.4 ft at 9:59 am.
7–8 ft
overhead · occasional 9 ft
- Swell
- 5.4 ft · 13 s · Wplus 1.1 ft · 13 s · WNW
- Wind
- 5 mph (N)cross-shore
- Tide
- 4.6 ft risinghigh 6.4 ft at 9:59 am
- Water
- 63°F3/2
- Air
- 61°Ffeels like 59°F
- Sun
- rise 6:44 amset 5:03 pm
Gray Whale Cove surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Gray Whale Cove: 9 am, Good, 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 Gray Whale Cove: 8 am, Good, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 14 | 3.8 ft |
| 7 amnow | 6–7 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 13 | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 6–7 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 5.4 ft |
| 9 am | 6–8 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (N) | 6.1 ft |
| 10 am | 6–7 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 11 | 6.4 ft |
| 11 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (N) | 6.1 ft |
| 12 pm | 8–9 ft | Good | 9 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 14 | 5.3 ft |
| 1 pm | 8–9 ft | Good | 10 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 15 | 4.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 8–9 ft | Fair | 11 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 16 | 2.6 ft |
| 3 pm | 7–9 ft | Fair | 10 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 15 | 1.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 7–8 ft | Fair | 10 mph cross-shore (NW) | 0.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 8–9 ft | Fair | 12 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 17 | -0.4 ft |
| 6 pm | 8–9 ft | Fair | 12 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 18 | -0.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (NE) | 3.7 ft |
| 7 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 12 | 4.3 ft |
| 8 am | 8–9 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 12 | 5.0 ft |
| 9 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 6 mph offshore (ENE) | 5.7 ft |
| 10 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 6 mph offshore (ENE) | 6.2 ft |
| 11 am | 7–8 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (ENE) | 6.2 ft |
| 12 pm | 6–8 ft | Good | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 1 pm | 7–8 ft | Good | calm | 4.8 ft |
| 2 pm | 6–8 ft | Good | calm | 3.6 ft |
| 3 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WNW) | 2.3 ft |
| 4 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 1.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 10 mph offshore (E), gusts 20 | 0.3 ft |
| 6 pm | 6–8 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (E), gusts 14 | -0.1 ft |
Gray Whale Cove waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 7 am, sets at Gray Whale Cove arrive about every 4 minutes with about 3 waves each, and the waves are mostly spilling and crumbly.
- Set waves
- about 7.8 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 3
- Sets
- every 4 minutes or so, each lasting about 35 s
- Lulls
- about 135 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Spillingwhich means soft, crumbling whitewater
- Shape
- Crumblywhich means whitewater rolls gently down the face
- Breaking
- 44% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.4 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Gray Whale Cove surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Gray Whale Cove: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 15–20 ft, and the best-rated day is Tuesday, Nov 17 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 15–20 ft and Fair; Sunday, Nov 15, 10–15 ft and Great.
Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Gray Whale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | 6–9 ft | Good | 5.4 ft · 13 s · W | 5 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 11 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 16 | 9 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 6–9 ft | Good | 5.9 ft · 13 s · W | 7 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 12 | calm | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 10–13 ft | Great | 8.3 ft · 14 s · W | 5 mph offshore (ESE), gusts 10 | 11 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 19 | 8 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 9–13 ft | Good | 9.1 ft · 14 s · W | 15 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 23 | 28 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 37 | 7 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 15–20 ft | Fair | 15.8 ft · 16 s · W | 11 mph onshore (W), gusts 16 | 11 mph onshore (W), gusts 16 | 4 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 10–15 ft | Great | 12.4 ft · 16 s · W | 9 mph cross-shore (S) | 15 mph cross-shore (SW) | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 17–20 ft | Poor | 12.1 ft · 15 s · W | 26 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 42 | 12 mph onshore (NW), gusts 19 | 1 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 11–15 ft | Great | — | 4 mph onshore (WNW) | 7 mph onshore (NW) | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 8–11 ft | Poor | — | 24 mph onshore (W) | 25 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 31 | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 7–11 ft | Good | — | 20 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 29 | 8 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 10 am |
| Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Gray Whale Cove are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Gray Whale Cove tide chart and tide times
Tides at Gray Whale Cove today, Tuesday, Nov 10: low 3.0 ft at 3:58 am, high 6.4 ft at 9:59 am and low -0.4 ft at 5:24 pm. At 7 am the tide is 4.6 ft and rising.
Gray Whale Cove tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:58 amHigh 6.4 ft at 9:59 amLow -0.4 ft at 5:24 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.4 ft at 12:22 amLow 3.3 ft at 4:28 amHigh 6.3 ft at 10:34 amLow -0.1 ft at 6:06 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.4 ft at 1:16 amLow 3.7 ft at 5:02 amHigh 6.3 ft at 11:07 amLow 0.3 ft at 6:50 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.5 ft at 2:13 amLow 4.0 ft at 5:43 amHigh 6.1 ft at 11:45 amLow 0.6 ft at 7:37 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.5 ft at 3:13 amLow 4.1 ft at 6:35 amHigh 5.7 ft at 12:28 pmLow 0.7 ft at 8:27 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.5 ft at 4:15 amLow 4.1 ft at 7:47 amHigh 5.3 ft at 1:18 pmLow 0.7 ft at 9:20 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.4 ft at 5:02 amLow 3.7 ft at 9:27 amHigh 4.5 ft at 2:19 pmLow 0.7 ft at 10:04 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.5 ft at 5:37 amLow 3.3 ft at 10:58 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Gray Whale Cove water temperature
The water temperature at Gray Whale Cove is about 63°F on Tuesday, Nov 10. With the air feeling like 59°F and a 5 mph wind, a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 61 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 Gray Whale Cove
- Montara State Beach0.8 mi S · 7–8 ft · Good
- Linda Mar2.4 mi NNE · 3–4 ft · Good
- Pedro Point2.4 mi N · 6–7 ft · Poor
- Rockaway Beach3.3 mi NNE · 7–8 ft · Great
- Sharp Park4.7 mi NNE · 7–8 ft · Good
- Ross's Cove4.9 mi S · 4–5 ft · Good
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Gray Whale Cove
Gray Whale Cove is a cove in Montara, San Mateo County, California, facing west. Also called Devil's Slide and Grey Whale Cove.
Follow Gray Whale 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.