Manhattan Beach Pier Surf Report & Forecast
The South Bay's centrepiece beach break.
Current conditions
2-3 ftmax ~4 ft
Fair · plunging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 1.6 ft at 17s from the SW
- Wind
- 7 mph SW onshore
- Tide
- 5.7 ft
- Break depth
- 5 ft
- Power
- 3 kW/m
- Water
- 74°F · trunks
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Manhattan Beach Pier is breaking right now
Solved in your browser from this spot’s seafloor and current swell
What the seafloor does to this wave
A cut straight out from Manhattan Beach Pier, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Manhattan Beach Pier looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
1.6 ft at 17s from the SW carrying 75% of the energy, plus 0.9 ft at 6s from the W (25%).
The long-period train is the one building your wave. It holds the most energy and reaches deepest. The shorter ones cross it, which is what makes the surface look busy and the takeoff shift around. 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
5.7 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 5 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
7 mph from the SW, 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 12 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. Why period matters more than height →
Manhattan Beach Pier surf forecast, next 6 days
Building — ~3.7 ft long-period groundswell from the SW filling in Sun morning (+4.3 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 ft | 6amGood | 1.6 ft at 17s SW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 6amGood | 1.4 ft at 15s SW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.4 ft 10amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 6am to 7amGood | 1.5 ft at 17s SW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.4 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8amFair-Good | 2.0 ft at 17s SW | 2 mph onshore | Low -0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8amGood | 2.2 ft at 15s SW | 5 mph offshore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8amFair-Good | 1.9 ft at 14s SW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low 0.7 ft 5amHigh 5.3 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Manhattan Beach Pier works
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.
- Bottom
- sand (seasonal bars)
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–NW or S–SW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common 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.
Nearby breaks
- El Porto (Manhattan Beach) surf report · 2-3 ft
- Hermosa Pier surf report · 2 ft
- Torrance Beach surf report · shorebreak only
- Haggertys surf report · 2-3 ft
- Lunada Bay surf report · 2 ft