Huntington Beach Pier Surf Report & Forecast
Surf City — the most consistent beach break in Orange County.
Current conditions
3-4 ftmax ~5 ft
Fair · spilling
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 2.8 ft at 13s from the S
- Wind
- 6 mph WSW onshore
- Tide
- 5.7 ft
- Break depth
- 7 ft
- Power
- 4 kW/m
- Water
- 75°F · trunks
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How Huntington 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 Huntington Beach Pier, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Huntington Beach Pier looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.8 ft at 13s from the S 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 1.01 · 39% 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 7 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
6 mph from the WSW, against a shoreline facing 208°.
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 1 min, roughly 7 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 →
Huntington Beach Pier surf forecast, next 6 days
Building — ~5.7 ft mid-period swell from the S filling in Wed morning (+14 h, high confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-6 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 4.1 ft at 13s S | 3 mph cross-shore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 6am to 8amFair-Good | 3.2 ft at 13s SSW | 3 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 7amFair-Good | 2.1 ft at 10s SSW | 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 | 2.2 ft at 18s SSW | 5 mph onshore | Low -0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8amFair-Good | 2.4 ft at 15s SSW | 7 mph onshore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8amFair-Good | 3.2 ft at 14s S | 5 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 Huntington Beach Pier works
Sandbars either side of the pier catch almost anything, which is why the contests and the crowds live here. Best on a summer south swell with a morning offshore.
- Bottom
- sand, shaped by the pier pilings
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- S–SW (summer) or W
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Huntington Beach Pier
- What is the best tide for Huntington Beach Pier?
- Huntington Beach Pier works best on 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 Huntington Beach Pier?
- S–SW (summer) or W suits Huntington 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 Huntington Beach Pier good for beginners?
- Huntington Beach Pier suits intermediate surfers, over sand, shaped by the pier pilings. 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 Huntington Beach Pier?
- sand, shaped by the pier pilings. 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 Huntington Beach Pier on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Newport Beach (56th Street) surf report · 3-4 ft
- Bolsa Chica surf report · 3 ft
- Blackies (Newport) surf report · shorebreak only
- Seal Beach Pier surf report · 2 ft
- Brooks Street (Laguna) surf report · 3 ft