Carpinteria · Santa Barbara County · California
Tar Pits Surf Report & Forecast, Carpinteria State Beach, CA
Tar Pits, Carpinteria State Beach, California: 3 ft, waist to chest high, at 9 pm PST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Good. The main swell is 2.1 ft at 14 seconds from the west-southwest, with a 4 mph offshore wind from the northeast. Water is about 74°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 5.0 ft at 10:12 pm.
3 ft
waist to chest high · occasional 4 ft
- Swell
- 2.1 ft · 14 s · WSWplus 0.3 ft · 15 s · S
- Wind
- 4 mph (NE)offshore
- Tide
- 4.7 ft risinghigh 5.0 ft at 10:12 pm
- Water
- 74°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 66°Ffeels like 60°F
- Sun
- rise 6:26 amset 4:58 pm
Tar Pits surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Tar Pits: 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 Tar Pits: 6 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 | 4 mph offshore (N) | 5.8 ft |
| 7 am | 3 ft | Good | 4 mph offshore (N) | 6.6 ft |
| 8 am | 3–4 ft | Good | calm | 7.2 ft |
| 9 am | 3 ft | Good | calm | 7.1 ft |
| 10 am | 3 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW) | 6.5 ft |
| 11 am | 3–4 ft | Good | 5 mph onshore (WSW) | 5.4 ft |
| 12 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 4.0 ft |
| 1 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 2.6 ft |
| 2 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 1.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 7 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 14 | 0.7 ft |
| 4 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 5 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 11 | 0.6 ft |
| 5 pm | 3–4 ft | Good | 4 mph cross-shore (NW) | 1.0 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 3 ft | Good | 6 mph offshore (NE) | 5.4 ft |
| 7 am | 2 ft | Good | 6 mph offshore (NE) | 6.3 ft |
| 8 am | 2–3 ft | Good | 5 mph offshore (NE) | 7.0 ft |
| 9 am | 2 ft | Good | calm | 7.3 ft |
| 10 am | 2–3 ft | Fair | 4 mph onshore (SSE) | 7.0 ft |
| 11 am | 2–3 ft | Fair | 5 mph onshore (S), gusts 10 | 6.1 ft |
| 12 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 11 | 4.8 ft |
| 1 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 12 | 3.4 ft |
| 2 pm | 2 ft | Fair | 6 mph onshore (SW), gusts 11 | 2.1 ft |
| 3 pm | 2–3 ft | Good | 4 mph onshore (WSW), gusts 9 | 1.1 ft |
| 4 pm | 2–3 ft | Good | calm | 0.6 ft |
| 5 pm | 2 ft | Good | calm | 0.7 ft |
Tar Pits waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 9 pm, sets at Tar Pits arrive about every 5 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 3.4 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 5 minutes or so, each lasting about 41 s
- Lulls
- about 194 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
- 31% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.3 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Tar Pits surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Tar Pits: the biggest day is Tuesday, Nov 17 at 6–9 ft, and the best-rated day is Saturday, Nov 14 (Great). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, 6–7 ft and Great; Sunday, Nov 15, 4–6 ft and Great.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Tar Pits 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 | 3–4 ft | Good | 1.7 ft · 16 s · WSW | calm | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 11 | 5 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 2–3 ft | Good | 1.9 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph offshore (NE) | 6 mph onshore (SW), gusts 11 | 6 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 2 ft | Good | 1.6 ft · 14 s · WSW | 4 mph cross-shore (E) | 5 mph onshore (S) | 6 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 2–4 ft | Good | 1.6 ft · 13 s · WSW | 5 mph cross-shore (ESE), gusts 10 | 8 mph onshore (S), gusts 17 | 5 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 3–5 ft | Great | 2.6 ft · 15 s · WSW | calm | 8 mph onshore (SSW) | 7 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 6–7 ft | Great | 4.6 ft · 15 s · WSW | 9 mph cross-shore (NW) | 14 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 20 | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 4–6 ft | Great | 3.3 ft · 17 s · WSW | 5 mph offshore (NNE) | 5 mph onshore (SW) | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 3–6 ft | Great | 2.0 ft · 15 s · WSW | 4 mph offshore (NNW) | 8 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 15 | 1 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 6–9 ft | Great | — | 11 mph cross-shore (NNW) | 12 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 3–5 ft | Great | — | 7 mph offshore (N) | 17 mph cross-shore (W) | 10 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Tar Pits are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Tar Pits tide chart and tide times
Tides at Tar Pits today, Monday, Nov 9: high 7.2 ft at 8:27 am, low 0.6 ft at 3:44 pm and high 5.0 ft at 10:12 pm. At 9 pm the tide is 4.7 ft and rising.
Tar Pits tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | High 7.2 ft at 8:27 amLow 0.6 ft at 3:44 pmHigh 5.0 ft at 10:12 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 3.5 ft at 2:45 amHigh 7.3 ft at 9 amLow 0.6 ft at 4:19 pmHigh 4.7 ft at 10:56 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 3.6 ft at 3:08 amHigh 6.9 ft at 9:27 amLow 0.8 ft at 5:02 pmHigh 4.4 ft at 11:55 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 3.8 ft at 3:28 amHigh 6.7 ft at 9:59 amLow 1.1 ft at 5:45 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | High 4.5 ft at 1:06 amLow 4.3 ft at 3:46 amHigh 6.6 ft at 10:36 amLow 1.5 ft at 6:39 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | High 4.5 ft at 2:23 amLow 4.4 ft at 4:18 amHigh 6.2 ft at 11:15 amLow 1.6 ft at 7:33 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | High 4.6 ft at 4:11 amLow 4.5 ft at 5:31 amHigh 5.7 ft at 12:05 pmLow 1.7 ft at 8:29 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 4.8 ft at 4:41 amLow 4.5 ft at 8:06 amHigh 5.2 ft at 1:15 pmLow 1.7 ft at 9:21 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 5.0 ft at 5:04 amLow 4.1 ft at 10:07 amHigh 4.9 ft at 2:47 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Tar Pits water temperature
The water temperature at Tar Pits is about 74°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 60°F and a 4 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 73 and 75°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 Tar Pits
- Carpinteria Beach1.1 mi ESE · 3 ft · Good
- Rincon3.0 mi ESE · 3–4 ft · Good
- La Conchita4.8 mi ESE · 3–4 ft · Good
- Mussel Shoals5.4 mi ESE · 2 ft · Fair
- Fernald Point5.9 mi WNW · 1–2 ft · Poor
- Miramar6.2 mi WNW · 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 Tar Pits
Tar Pits is a reef break in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, California, facing south-southwest.
Follow Tar Pits 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.