Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz County · California
Steamer Lane Surf Report & Forecast, Santa Cruz, California
Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, California: 3 ft, waist to chest high, at 9 am PST on Tuesday, Nov 10, rated Poor to Fair. The main swell is 2.9 ft at 13 seconds from the west-southwest, with calm wind. Water is about 67°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 6.1 ft at 9:50 am.
3 ft
waist to chest high · occasional 4 ft
- Swell
- 2.9 ft · 13 s · WSWplus 0.6 ft · 14 s · SW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 6.0 ft risinghigh 6.1 ft at 9:50 am
- Water
- 67°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 68°Ffeels like 69°F
- Sun
- rise 6:41 amset 5:02 pm
Steamer Lane surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Steamer Lane: 5 pm, Good, on a rising 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 Steamer Lane: 6 am, Good, on a rising mid tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 3.9 ft |
| 7 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 3–4 ft | Fair | calm | 5.4 ft |
| 9 amnow | 3 ft | Poor to Fair | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 10 am | 3 ft | Poor to Fair | calm | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 3 ft | Poor to Fair | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 12 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 4 mph cross-shore (SW) | 5.0 ft |
| 1 pm | 4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 12 | 3.8 ft |
| 2 pm | 4 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 13 | 2.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 15 | 1.2 ft |
| 4 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 7 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 0.3 ft |
| 5 pm | 4–5 ft | Good | 5 mph offshore (NNW) | -0.2 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 4–5 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (NE) | 3.7 ft |
| 7 am | 4 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 4.3 ft |
| 8 am | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 11 | 5.1 ft |
| 9 am | 4–5 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 12 | 5.7 ft |
| 10 am | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 10 | 6.1 ft |
| 11 am | 4–5 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (ESE) | 6.0 ft |
| 12 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 5.5 ft |
| 1 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 4 mph onshore (S) | 4.5 ft |
| 2 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 10 | 3.3 ft |
| 3 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (SW) | 2.1 ft |
| 4 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | 4 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 1.0 ft |
| 5 pm | 3–4 ft | Fair | calm | 0.3 ft |
Steamer Lane waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 9 am, sets at Steamer Lane arrive about every 4 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and hollow.
- Set waves
- about 3.3 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 4 minutes or so, each lasting about 35 s
- Lulls
- about 269 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Hollowwhich means throwing, barreling waves
- Breaking
- 36% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.2 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Steamer Lane surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Steamer Lane: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 11–15 ft, and the best-rated day is Saturday, Nov 14 (Epic). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 11–15 ft and Epic; Sunday, Nov 15, 4–8 ft and Good.
Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Steamer Lane 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 | 3–5 ft | Good | 3.4 ft · 13 s · WSW | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 13 | 5 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 3–5 ft | Good | 3.5 ft · 13 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (E), gusts 11 | 5 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 10 | 6 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 4–8 ft | Good | 4.1 ft · 15 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 14 | 6 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 12 | 6 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 5–9 ft | Fair | 5.4 ft · 15 s · WSW | 8 mph onshore (SE) | 22 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 34 | 8 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 11–15 ft | Epic | 9.4 ft · 16 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 8 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 18 | 1 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 4–8 ft | Good | 6.0 ft · 16 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 11 | 8 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 13 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 8–12 ft | Epic | 4.5 ft · 14 s · WSW | 7 mph offshore (NW), gusts 13 | 12 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 23 | 10 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 4–8 ft | Great | 6.5 ft · 17 s · WSW | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (W) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3–7 ft | Good | — | 16 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 23 | 19 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 24 | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 2–5 ft | Good | — | 14 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 26 | 8 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 14 | 7 am |
| Fri, Nov 20 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Steamer Lane are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Steamer Lane tide chart and tide times
Tides at Steamer Lane today, Tuesday, Nov 10: low 3.0 ft at 3:43 am, high 6.1 ft at 9:50 am and low -0.2 ft at 5:18 pm. At 9 am the tide is 6.0 ft and rising.
Steamer Lane tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.0 ft at 3:43 amHigh 6.1 ft at 9:50 amLow -0.2 ft at 5:18 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.1 ft at 12:16 amLow 3.3 ft at 4:11 amHigh 6.1 ft at 10:21 amLow 0.1 ft at 5:57 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.2 ft at 1:10 amLow 3.6 ft at 4:46 amHigh 6.0 ft at 10:56 amLow 0.4 ft at 6:44 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.3 ft at 2:17 amLow 3.9 ft at 5:20 amHigh 6.0 ft at 11:36 amLow 0.7 ft at 7:33 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.3 ft at 3:19 amLow 4.1 ft at 6:19 amHigh 5.5 ft at 12:14 pmLow 0.7 ft at 8:23 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.3 ft at 4:20 amLow 4.0 ft at 7:36 amHigh 5.0 ft at 1:05 pmLow 0.8 ft at 9:13 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.4 ft at 5:08 amLow 3.9 ft at 9:17 amHigh 4.6 ft at 2:11 pmLow 1.0 ft at 10:01 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.6 ft at 5:37 amLow 3.5 ft at 10:53 amHigh 4.3 ft at 3:32 pmLow 1.2 ft at 10:44 pm |
| Wed, Nov 18 | High 4.9 ft at 6:01 amLow 2.9 ft at 12 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Steamer Lane water temperature
The water temperature at Steamer Lane is about 67°F on Tuesday, Nov 10. With the air feeling like 69°F and a 3 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 66 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 Steamer Lane
- Its Beach0.3 mi W · 4 ft · Great
- Cowells Cove0.7 mi N · 1 ft · Fair
- Mitchell's Cove0.9 mi W · 2 ft · Poor
- San Lorenzo Rivermouth0.9 mi NE · 2 ft · Fair
- Swift Street1.4 mi W · 3–4 ft · Poor
- Santa Cruz Harbour1.5 mi ENE · 3 ft · Fair
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Steamer Lane
Steamer Lane is a point break in Santa Cruz County, California, facing south-southeast. Also called The Lane, Lighthouse Point, Middle Peak, Indicators and The Slot.
Follow Steamer Lane 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.