Seal Beach Pier Surf Report & Forecast
South-facing pier break in the crook of the bay.
Current conditions
2 ftmax ~3 ft
Fair-Good · plunging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 1.4 ft at 12s from the SSW
- Wind
- 6 mph WSW cross-shore
- Tide
- 5.7 ft
- Break depth
- 4 ft
- Power
- 1 kW/m
- Water
- 75°F · trunks
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Seal 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 Seal Beach Pier, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Seal Beach Pier looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
1.4 ft at 12s from the SSW carrying 95% of the energy, plus 0.4 ft at 5s from the SW (5%).
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 1.04 · 80% 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 4 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 cross-shore
6 mph from the WSW, against a shoreline facing 192°.
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.
How the sets come
About one set every 1 min, roughly 6 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 →
Seal Beach Pier surf forecast, next 6 days
Holding — 0–3.6 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-4 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 2.3 ft at 13s SSW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 1.6 ft at 11s SSW | 3 mph onshore | Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.4 ft 10amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 1.2 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 | |
| 1 ft | 8amFair | 0.9 ft at 8s SSW | 5 mph onshore | Low -0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 8am to 11amFair-Good | 0.9 ft at 15s SSW | 7 mph onshore | Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8amFair-Good | 1.8 ft at 14s SSW | 6 mph onshore | 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 Seal Beach Pier works
Sand held by the groins either side of Seal Beach pier. It faces almost due south into San Pedro Bay, so it is a dedicated summer south-swell wave and flat on most winter days.
- Bottom
- sand, groin-shaped
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- S–SSE groundswell
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Seal Beach Pier
- What is the best tide for Seal Beach Pier?
- Seal 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 Seal Beach Pier?
- S–SSE groundswell suits Seal 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 Seal Beach Pier good for beginners?
- Seal Beach Pier suits intermediate surfers, over sand, groin-shaped. 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 Seal Beach Pier?
- sand, groin-shaped. 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 Seal Beach Pier on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Bolsa Chica surf report · 3 ft
- Huntington Beach Pier surf report · 3-4 ft
- Newport Beach (56th Street) surf report · 3-4 ft
- Blackies (Newport) surf report · shorebreak only
- Brooks Street (Laguna) surf report · 3 ft