Torrance Beach Surf Report & Forecast
The last sand before Palos Verdes.
Current conditions
shorebreak only
Very Poor
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 1.0 ft at 15s from the W
- Wind
- 7 mph WSW cross-shore
- Tide
- 5.7 ft
- Break depth
- 0 ft
- Power
- 1 kW/m
- Water
- 75°F · trunks
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Torrance Beach 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 Torrance Beach, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Torrance Beach looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
1.0 ft at 15s from the W carrying 66% of the energy, plus 0.6 ft at 5s 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 0.99 · 69% 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 →
The tide has drowned the bank
5.7 ft of tide over it.
There's now too much water above the bank for the swell to trip on it, so the waves roll straight over unbroken and only the shorebreak works. This is the case a size-only rating cannot see. the swell is still out there, the spot just isn't using it. How the tide moves the break →
Wind is cross-shore
7 mph from the WSW, against a shoreline facing 292°.
Running across the face rather than into or against it. Less destructive than a straight onshore, but it puts a texture on the wall and can make the peak harder to read.
Torrance Beach surf forecast, next 6 days
Building — ~2.9 ft long-period groundswell from the W filling in Sun morning (+4.3 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 1.0 ft at 17s W | 3 mph offshore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 2 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 1.0 ft at 15s W | 3 mph offshore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.4 ft 10amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 1.2 ft at 17s W | 3 mph offshore | Low -0.4 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 10pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8am to 11amGood | 1.6 ft at 17s W | 2 mph cross-shore | Low -0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8am to 11amGood | 1.5 ft at 15s W | 5 mph offshore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 2 ft | 8amFair-Good | 1.2 ft at 14s W | 3 mph offshore | 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 Torrance Beach works
The south end of the South Bay sand, tucked under the start of the Palos Verdes bluffs — it faces more northwest than its neighbours and picks up swell they miss.
- Bottom
- sand at the foot of the PV bluffs
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–NW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Torrance Beach
- What is the best tide for Torrance Beach?
- Torrance Beach 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 Torrance Beach?
- W–NW suits Torrance Beach 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 Torrance Beach good for beginners?
- Torrance Beach suits intermediate surfers, over sand at the foot of the PV bluffs. 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 Torrance Beach?
- sand at the foot of the PV bluffs. 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 Torrance Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Haggertys surf report · 2-3 ft
- Lunada Bay surf report · 2 ft
- Hermosa Pier surf report · 2 ft
- Manhattan Beach Pier surf report · 2-3 ft
- El Porto (Manhattan Beach) surf report · 2-3 ft