Watsonville · Santa Cruz County · California
Sunset State Beach Surf Report & Forecast, Watsonville, CA
Sunset State Beach, Watsonville, California: 9–10 ft, well overhead, at 12 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Great. The main swell is 5.8 ft at 15 seconds from the west-southwest, with calm wind. Water is about 67°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next low tide is -0.3 ft at 4:41 pm.
9–10 ft
well overhead · occasional 12 ft
- Swell
- 5.8 ft · 15 s · WSW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 4.3 ft fallinglow -0.3 ft at 4:41 pm
- Water
- 67°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 70°Ffeels like 67°F
- Sun
- rise 6:39 amset 5:02 pm
Sunset State Beach surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Sunset State Beach: 9 am, Great, 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 Sunset State Beach: 6 am, Great, on a rising mid tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 10–11 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (NNE) | 4.2 ft |
| 7 am | 10–11 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (NNE) | 5.0 ft |
| 8 am | 9–11 ft | Great | calm | 5.8 ft |
| 9 am | 9–11 ft | Great | calm | 6.2 ft |
| 10 am | 9–10 ft | Great | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 11 am | 9–10 ft | Great | calm | 5.4 ft |
| 12 pmnow | 9–10 ft | Good | 6 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 12 | 4.3 ft |
| 1 pm | 8–9 ft | Poor to Fair | 9 mph onshore (WNW), gusts 17 | 3.0 ft |
| 2 pm | 8–9 ft | Fair | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 17 | 1.6 ft |
| 3 pm | 7–8 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 13 | 0.5 ft |
| 4 pm | 7–8 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 10 | -0.1 ft |
| 5 pm | 7–8 ft | Great | calm | -0.2 ft |
| 6 pm | 7–8 ft | Great | 4 mph offshore (NNE) | 0.2 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 6–7 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 3.8 ft |
| 7 am | 5–7 ft | Great | 5 mph cross-shore (N) | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 5–6 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 5.3 ft |
| 9 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 5.9 ft |
| 10 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 6.0 ft |
| 11 am | 5–6 ft | Great | calm | 5.7 ft |
| 12 pm | 5–7 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 9 | 4.9 ft |
| 1 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 15 | 3.7 ft |
| 2 pm | 6–7 ft | Fair | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 17 | 2.3 ft |
| 3 pm | 6–7 ft | Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 14 | 1.1 ft |
| 4 pm | 6–7 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 12 | 0.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 6–7 ft | Great | 4 mph cross-shore (NW) | -0.3 ft |
Sunset State Beach waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 12 pm, sets at Sunset State Beach arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 10.3 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 42 s
- Lulls
- about 182 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
- 98% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.9 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Sunset State Beach surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Sunset State Beach: the biggest day is Saturday, Nov 14 at 10–16 ft, and the best-rated day is Monday, Nov 9 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 10–16 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 9–13 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Sunset State Beach 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 | 7–11 ft | Great | 6.2 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 17 | 9 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 5–7 ft | Great | 3.9 ft · 13 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW), gusts 17 | 6 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 5–7 ft | Great | 4.1 ft · 13 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (ENE), gusts 11 | 5 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 12 | 6 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 8–9 ft | Great | 4.1 ft · 13 s · W | 4 mph offshore (E) | 11 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 23 | 11 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 9–11 ft | Great | 6.4 ft · 14 s · WSW | 6 mph cross-shore (ESE) | 13 mph onshore (SW), gusts 25 | 9 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 10–16 ft | Great | 7.0 ft · 15 s · WSW | 6 mph offshore (NNE) | 6 mph onshore (W), gusts 11 | 10 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 9–13 ft | Great | 7.4 ft · 16 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (SSE) | 8 mph onshore (W), gusts 16 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 12–14 ft | Great | 7.4 ft · 15 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (N) | 12 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 23 | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 6–10 ft | Great | — | 6 mph cross-shore (N) | 8 mph cross-shore (NW) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 4–6 ft | Great | — | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 12 | 1 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Sunset State Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Sunset State Beach tide chart and tide times
Tides at Sunset State Beach today, Monday, Nov 9: low 2.9 ft at 3:12 am, high 6.2 ft at 9:17 am, low -0.3 ft at 4:41 pm and high 4.1 ft at 11:25 pm. At 12 pm the tide is 4.3 ft and falling.
Sunset State Beach tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 2.9 ft at 3:12 amHigh 6.2 ft at 9:17 amLow -0.3 ft at 4:41 pmHigh 4.1 ft at 11:25 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 2.9 ft at 3:45 amHigh 6.1 ft at 9:49 amLow -0.3 ft at 5:16 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | High 4.1 ft at 12:13 amLow 3.2 ft at 4:12 amHigh 5.9 ft at 10:21 amLow -0.1 ft at 6 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | High 4.0 ft at 1:13 amLow 3.5 ft at 4:43 amHigh 5.9 ft at 10:56 amLow 0.3 ft at 6:44 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.1 ft at 2:14 amLow 3.8 ft at 5:19 amHigh 5.8 ft at 11:35 amLow 0.6 ft at 7:32 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.1 ft at 3:17 amLow 3.9 ft at 6:10 amHigh 5.4 ft at 12:16 pmLow 0.7 ft at 8:22 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.2 ft at 4:18 amLow 3.9 ft at 7:37 amHigh 5.0 ft at 1:03 pmLow 0.7 ft at 9:14 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.2 ft at 5:07 amLow 3.7 ft at 9:16 amHigh 4.4 ft at 2:10 pmLow 0.8 ft at 10 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 4.4 ft at 5:36 amLow 3.3 ft at 10:52 am |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Sunset State Beach water temperature
The water temperature at Sunset State Beach is about 67°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 67°F and a 2 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 66 and 70°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 Sunset State Beach
- Palm Beach1.5 mi SSE · 9–10 ft · Great
- Manresa State Beach3.0 mi NNW · 8–9 ft · Great
- Zmudowski State Beach3.4 mi SSE · 11–12 ft · Great
- La Selva Beach3.8 mi NNW · 8–9 ft · Great
- Seascape5.5 mi NNW · 7–9 ft · Great
- Moss Landing5.7 mi SSE · 6–7 ft · Great
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About Sunset State Beach
Sunset State Beach is a beach break in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California, facing west-southwest. Also called Sunset Beach.
Follow Sunset State Beach 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.