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El Capitan Beach, California

Beach in Santa Barbara County, California

Air quality

The air at El Capitan Beach

Index 10, good, led by coarse particles. Read at 2 AM from its reporting area, Gaviota Coast (CA), 2 miles off.

10Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)-10.4 mi
  • Ozone-25 ppb10.4 mi
  • Coarse particles (PM10)10Good2.2 mi

The days ahead

Good each day through Mon Oct 19, led by ozone. Yesterday measured 14, good.

Smoke, the next 46 hours

Little smoke near the ground through Sat 11 PM: the index from smoke stays at 6 or under.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at El Capitan Beach

None in the last 3 days, to Fri 1 AM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.00in
Last 3 days
0.00in

Visibility

How far you can see at El Capitan Beach, the next 46 hours

Visibility stays 10 miles or more through Sat 11 PM.

FriSat
El Capitan Beach from its sand, nowLooking SSW from the sand at 2:53 AM, night, clear, waves about 2.0 ft every 14 s. The flag is the colour of the day's rip current risk, low (green), not a flag raised on the beach.190200210220SW230Facing SSW 210°Wind 16 mphfrom N, offshore
Looking SSW from the sand at 2:53 AM, night, clear, waves about 2.0 ft every 14 s. The flag is the colour of the day's rip current risk, low (green), not a flag raised on the beach.
NESW

Facing SSW 210°

300 ft

From above: the edge, the break, the view

Rip current risk today: low

The flag in the picture is the colour of the forecast's risk (green low, yellow moderate, red high), not a flag raised on the beach.

A rip current is a narrow stream of water running out from the shore through the surf, often where fewer waves break. Caught in one, swim across it, along the shore, then back in.

Surf and swim

The surf zone forecast for Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast, Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast, and the waves at buoy 46053, 18.2 mi away.

Today

Rip current risk
Low
Surf height
1 to 3 feet
Water temperature
Around 71 °F

Waves at buoy 46053, East Santa Barbara

Wave height
2.0 ft
Period
14 s
From
WNW (298°)
Swell
1.6 ft at 14 s from NW
Wind waves
1.0 ft at 4 s from WSW
Water
71 °F
Read
Fri 12:50 AM
Distance
18.2 mi

Wave height is the significant height: the mean of the highest third of the waves. The period is the time between the waves carrying the most energy.

Wave height at buoy 46053, last 48 hoursSignificant wave height from 2.0 ft to 3.0 ft; 2.0 ft at Fri 12:50 AM. Arrows show the way the waves travel.0 ft1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft6 AMNoon6 PMFri2.0 ftWave height at buoy 46053, last 48 hoursSignificant wave height from 2.0 ft to 3.0 ft; 2.0 ft at Fri 12:50 AM. Arrows show the way the waves travel.0 ft1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ftNoon2.0 ft
Significant wave height from 2.0 ft to 3.0 ft; 2.0 ft at Fri 12:50 AM. Arrows show the way the waves travel.
Every hour, last 20 hours
TimeWave heightPeriodFrom
Fri 12:50 AM2.0 ft14 sWNW (298°)
Thu 11:50 PM2.0 ft15 sWSW (248°)
Thu 10:50 PM2.3 ft13 sW (278°)
Thu 9:50 PM2.6 ft14 sW (263°)
Thu 8:50 PM2.6 ft-W (265°)
Thu 7:50 PM3.0 ft4 sW (267°)
Thu 6:50 PM2.3 ft14 sW (270°)
Thu 5:50 PM2.6 ft13 sW (263°)
Thu 4:50 PM2.3 ft13 sWSW (252°)
Thu 3:50 PM2.3 ft13 sWNW (293°)
Thu 2:50 PM2.6 ft12 sW (279°)
Thu 1:50 PM2.3 ft14 sWSW (246°)
Thu 12:50 PM2.0 ft12 sW (267°)
Thu 11:50 AM2.0 ft13 sWSW (256°)
Thu 10:50 AM2.0 ft13 sW (259°)
Thu 9:50 AM2.0 ft13 sWNW (293°)
Thu 8:50 AM2.0 ft-WSW (252°)
Thu 7:50 AM2.0 ft14 sWNW (299°)
Thu 6:50 AM2.0 ft13 sW (264°)
Thu 5:50 AM2.0 ft15 sSSW (206°)

Surf zone forecast

Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast, Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast. Issued 2:30 AM PDT Fri Oct 16.

ForecastTodaySaturday
Rip current riskLowModerate
Surf height1 to 3 feet2 to 4 feet
Water temperatureAround 71 °F-
Thunderstorm potentialNone expectedNone expected
RemarksNoneSouth swell
TidesHigh 4.8 ft, 1:47 PMLow 0.8 ft, 10:35 PMHigh 4.4 ft, 2:58 PMLow 0.8 ft, 11:53 PM

Tide

TideHigh 4.8 ft at Fri 1:47 PM, Low 0.8 ft at Fri 10:35 PM, High 4.4 ft at Sat 2:58 PM, Low 0.8 ft at Sat 11:53 PM. Heights in feet above mean lower low water.0 ft2 ft4 ft6 ft6 PMSat6 AMNoon6 PMSun4.8 ft1:47 PM0.8 ft10:35 PM4.4 ft2:58 PM0.8 ft11:53 PMTideHigh 4.8 ft at Fri 1:47 PM, Low 0.8 ft at Fri 10:35 PM, High 4.4 ft at Sat 2:58 PM, Low 0.8 ft at Sat 11:53 PM. Heights in feet above mean lower low water.0 ft2 ft4 ft6 ftSatNoon4.8 ft1:47 PM0.8 ft10:35 PM4.4 ft2:58 PM0.8 ft11:53 PM
Tide. High 4.8 ft at Fri 1:47 PM, Low 0.8 ft at Fri 10:35 PM, High 4.4 ft at Sat 2:58 PM, Low 0.8 ft at Sat 11:53 PM. Heights in feet above mean lower low water.

Beach

County
Santa Barbara County
State
California
Latitude
34.4597° N
Longitude
120.0274° W

What is measuring near here

The 6 instruments nearest El Capitan Beach, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 4.8 miles away.

measured now4 instruments

Santa Barbara 11 W53152

At a climate reference station/9.6 mi away/18 ft/- ft from here

temp, humidity, wind, solar, precip

Citizen station KB6OQJKB6OQJ

In a volunteer observer's own ground/10.3 mi away/597 ft/- ft from here

temp, humidity, wind, precip, pressure

Santa YnezIZA

At an airfield/10.5 mi away/673 ft/- ft from here

temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure

measured daily2 instruments

Goleta 3.7 WNWCA-SB-1

In a volunteer observer's own ground/7.6 mi away/158 ft/- ft from here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Cachuma LakeCCAC1

At a cooperative observer's station/8.9 mi away/715 ft/- ft from here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

-

Snow on the ground

Elsewhere in California

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Near El Capitan Beach

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