What is the best tide for T-Street (San Clemente)?

T-Street (San Clemente) 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 T-Street (San Clemente)?

S–SW suits T-Street (San Clemente) 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 T-Street (San Clemente) good for beginners?

T-Street (San Clemente) suits intermediate surfers, over sand over cobble, near the pier/trestle. 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 T-Street (San Clemente)?

sand over cobble, near the pier/trestle. 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 T-Street (San Clemente) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

T-Street (San Clemente) surf report and forecast

Cobble pointSan Clemente, Orange County, CAForecast 9:52pm

Forecast for the selected hour

Now · 11pm

3–4 ft · sets to 5

GoodNo window today · next tomorrow All day (6am–7pm)

Swell lines up; it is modest in size.

3-hourlyGlobal model6-hourly

Hour by hour · TodaySunrise 6:55 · tap an hour

SurfftWindmphTideftSwells · from

Model, not a camera ·Today 11pm PDT

Open on the map

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 11pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water

Swell2.3 ft · 14 s · SWMakes the wave: 95% of the energy. Direction at the break.
Wind17 mph from the NEOffshore to a shoreline facing 226°Strong
Tide1.7 ft, risingNext high 4.6 ft at 12:14pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9410660 observed
BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 6 ft of water
Energy94 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
Water72° · air 71° · UV 0

High confidence.

Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow All day (6am–7pm)

No usable window in daylight today.

Against what T-Street (San Clemente) likesWhy it is Good, not Epic

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 11pmSan Clemente Pier, Doheny and 3 more

Compare on the map

The break

The seafloorSand over cobble, near the pier/trestle

Loading the seafloor under T-Street (San Clemente)…

Open the seafloor on the map

Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.

Bottomsand over cobble, near the pier/trestle
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 11pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.

One swell, uncrossed
2.3 ft at 14s 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 0.96 · 84% 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
1.7 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 offshore
17 mph from the NE, against a shoreline facing 226°.
Blowing from the land into the face, holding the wave up as it stands. That is what grooms it and gives you the clean, hollow version of this spot.
How the sets come
About one set every 2 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.

How T-Street (San Clemente) worksRights and lefts over sand and cobble by the beach trail…

Rights and lefts over sand and cobble by the beach trail underpass — takes a wide swell window and works at most sizes, which is why the whole town surfs here.

Best tidemid
Best swellS–SW
Suitsintermediate

1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated

Common questions4 questions about T-Street (San Clemente)

What is the best tide for T-Street (San Clemente)?: T-Street (San Clemente) 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 T-Street (San Clemente)?: S–SW suits T-Street (San Clemente) 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 T-Street (San Clemente) good for beginners?: T-Street (San Clemente) suits intermediate surfers, over sand over cobble, near the pier/trestle. 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 T-Street (San Clemente)?: sand over cobble, near the pier/trestle. 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 T-Street (San Clemente) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.