Manhattan Beach Pier surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 8pm
3–4 ft · sets to 5
FairNo window today · next tomorrow 7–11am
Nothing is clearly limiting, but wind is tolerable and it is modest in size.
The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
Loads when it comes into view.The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
This hour
The 8pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell2.4 ft · 15 s · SWMakes the wave: 100% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind8 mph from the WOnshore to a shoreline facing 246°Moderate
- Tide2.2 ft, fallingNext low 0.6 ft at 11:33pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9410660 observed
- BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 6 ft of water
- Energy123 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
- Water73° · air 71° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow 7–11am
No usable window in daylight today.
Against what Manhattan Beach Pier likesWhy it is Fair, not Fair-Good
Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.
Nearby at 8pmEl Porto (Manhattan Beach), Hermosa Pier and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand (seasonal bars)
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand (seasonal bars)
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2022), relative to NAVD88. Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
- CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.
Why it breaks like thisOne swell, uncrossed, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 8pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.4 ft at 15s from the SW and nothing significant crossing it.
A single train is the cleanest case there is: the sets arrive from one angle, so the peak should sit in the same place each time instead of wandering. Why period matters more than height
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.97 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy arrives roughly as it left deep water: this bottom neither concentrates the swell nor fans it out, so what the buoy sees is close to what you get. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
Where it trips
2.2 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 6 ft of water.
A wave breaks when the water gets shallow enough relative to its height, so that depth is a contour on the seafloor, and the tide slides the whole break up and down it through the day. Same swell, different spot, a few hours apart. How the tide moves the break
Wind is onshore
8 mph from the W, against a shoreline facing 246°.
Pushing into the back of the wave from the sea, making it crumble and break early instead of standing up. Note this is measured against the angle THIS break faces, which is why one spot can be blown out while the one round the headland is fine.
How the sets come
About one set every 3 min, roughly 11 waves in it.
Swell arrives in groups, not evenly. That spacing is what you are really timing your paddle-out to, and it's why the lineup can look flat for minutes and then produce five waves at once.
How Manhattan Beach Pier worksPeaks either side of the Manhattan pier
Peaks either side of the Manhattan pier — the postcard South Bay wave, consistent and busy, with El Porto's power a mile up the beach.
- Best tidelow to mid
- Best swellW–NW or S–SW
- Suitsintermediate
1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Manhattan Beach Pier
- What is the best tide for Manhattan Beach Pier?
- Manhattan Beach Pier works best on low to mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
- What swell direction is best for Manhattan Beach Pier?
- W–NW or S–SW suits Manhattan Beach Pier best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
- Is Manhattan Beach Pier good for beginners?
- Manhattan Beach Pier suits intermediate surfers, over sand. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
- What is the bottom like at Manhattan Beach Pier?
- sand (seasonal bars). It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Manhattan Beach Pier on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.