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The Rivermouth Surf Forecast
/ CAL – Santa Cruz (30 breaks) / California (404 breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
The Rivermouth surfForecast / CAL – Santa Cruz / USA
16 Day Weather and Surf, issued 4 am Tuesday 12 May 2026 PDTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
The Rivermouth surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's The Rivermouth sea temperature is
12.7° C
(Which is slightly warmer than usual)Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Rivermouth this week:
The surf forecast for The Rivermouth over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (May 12) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 15s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Rivermouth in the next 16 days are 3.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (May 17) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 4.0m 11s period and expected on Sunday (May 17) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (PDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Tue 12th May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 15s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Thu 14th May) | 8ft (2.5m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Sun 17th May) | 11ft (3.5m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Rivermouth over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Wed afternoon, min 9°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Fri afternoon, min 9°C on Sat night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WNW on Sat afternoon, calm by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 12 | Wednesday 13 | Thursday 14 | Friday 15 | Saturday 16 | Sunday 17 | Monday 18 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
WNW 11 | WNW 11 | SSW 14 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | |
325 | 394 | 186 | 521 | 210 | 1018 | 643 | 537 | 705 | 782 | 929 | 1235 | 1230 | 1599 | 1922 | 2054 | 2885 | 1487 | 859 | 785 | 794 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
cross-on | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross | glassy | |
High Tide | 7:59PM1.44m | 8:39AM1.06m | 8:30PM1.56m | 9:49AM1.12m | 9:03PM1.69m | 10:53AM1.18m | 9:40PM1.80m | 11:53AM1.23m | 10:21PM1.87m | 12:52PM1.26m | 11:06PM1.90m | 1:51PM1.27m | 11:54PM1.87m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:13PM0.26m | 2:27AM0.14m | 1:57PM0.37m | 3:09AM-0.10m | 2:39PM0.50m | 3:51AM-0.32m | 3:22PM0.63m | 4:35AM-0.48m | 4:07PM0.75m | 5:22AM-0.56m | 4:53PM0.85m | 6:12AM-0.58m | 5:45PM0.92m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — |
 | — | 8:06 | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:08 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:10 | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 19 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 16 |
15 | 18 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 17 | 20 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 16 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 11 | SSW 15 | WNW 7 | SSW 14 | WNW 11 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 16 | WNW 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | WNW 15 | WNW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | SSW 12 | WNW 10 |
 kJ | 325 | 242 | 96 | 163 | 210 | 1018 | 643 | 295 | 705 | 234 | 228 | 174 | 167 | 165 | 163 | 107 | 60 | 1487 | 859 | 31 | 794 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | S 13 | WNW 11 | S 13 | W 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 16 | S 12 | SSW 16 | WNW 18 | WNW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | SW 19 | S 20 | S 18 | S 18 | SSW 13 | SSW 16 | S 16 | W 16 |
| kJ | 242 | 14 | 153 | 13 | 171 | 102 | 298 | 3 | 250 | 31 | 89 | 135 | 99 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 58 | 87 | 46 | 131 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 14 | SSW 14 | S 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 18 | S 12 | S 12 | W 19 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 13 | SSW 15 | — | S 20 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 13 | SSW 18 | S 15 |
| kJ | 3 | 15 | 186 | 13 | 102 | 104 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 58 | 74 | — | 7 | 12 | 12 | 31 | 33 | 30 | 42 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WNW 11 | — | WNW 12 | WNW 6 | WNW 8 | — | WNW 9 | — | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | NW 11 | — | WNW 10 | — |
| kJ | — | 394 | — | 521 | 124 | 477 | — | 537 | — | 782 | 929 | 1235 | 1230 | 1599 | 1922 | 2054 | 2885 | 3124 | — | 785 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 103 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 647 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Santa Cruz | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our The Rivermouth surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the The Rivermouth Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Rivermouth provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Rivermouth can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Rivermouth surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (The Rivermouth) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for The Rivermouth may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
The Rivermouth is 2 km (1 miles) from Santa Cruz. If you plan a vacation in Santa Cruz, look for hotels and other accommodation in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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