Stockton Avenue Surf Report & Forecast
Small westside reef between the well-known ones.
Current conditions
3-4 ftmax ~5 ft
Good · surging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 2.3 ft at 17s from the SSW
- Wind
- 2 mph NW cross-shore
- Tide
- 5.1 ft
- Break depth
- 6 ft
- Power
- 4 kW/m
- Water
- 60°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 1 swell train · how this is calculated
How Stockton Avenue 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 Stockton Avenue, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Stockton Avenue looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.3 ft at 17s from the SSW 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 0.91 · 71% 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
5.1 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 →
Barely any wind
2 mph from the NW, against a shoreline facing 194°.
Too light to shape the face either way. At this speed the wave's own texture wins, whatever the direction.
How the sets come
About one set every 3 min, roughly 11 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 →
Stockton Avenue surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~5.2 ft long-period groundswell from the SSW filling in Sun morning (+4.4 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 9amGood | 2.2 ft at 15s SSW | 2 mph offshore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.2 ft 11amLow 2.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 7pmGood | 2.4 ft at 14s SSW | 14 mph cross-shore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.4 ft 11amLow 2.3 ft 4pmHigh 5.7 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 6pmGood | 2.5 ft at 13s SSW | 7 mph offshore | Low 0.2 ft 5amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 2.0 ft 5pmHigh 5.5 ft 11pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 8am to 5pmGood | 2.9 ft at 17s SSW | 15 mph cross-shore | Low 0.5 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 1.7 ft 6pmHigh 5.1 ft 11pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8am to 5pmGood | 3.2 ft at 15s SSW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low 0.9 ft 6amHigh 5.2 ft 12pmLow 1.4 ft 6pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 11am to 5pmGood | 2.5 ft at 14s SSW | 8 mph cross-shore | High 4.7 ft 12amLow 1.4 ft 6amHigh 5.4 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 11amGood | 2.9 ft at 15s S | 6 mph cross-shore | High 4.2 ft 1amLow 1.9 ft 7amHigh 5.6 ft 1pmLow 1.0 ft 8pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Stockton Avenue works
A modest reef peak on West Cliff between Mitchell's and the Lane — never a standout, but it holds a shape when the bigger names are crowded or closed out.
- Bottom
- rock reef on West Cliff
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- W–SW that wraps in
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Stockton Avenue
- What is the best tide for Stockton Avenue?
- Stockton Avenue 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 Stockton Avenue?
- W–SW that wraps in suits Stockton Avenue 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 Stockton Avenue good for beginners?
- Stockton Avenue suits intermediate surfers, over rock reef on West Cliff. 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 Stockton Avenue?
- rock reef on West Cliff. 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 Stockton Avenue on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Mitchell's Cove surf report · 3 ft
- Steamer Lane surf report · 2-3 ft
- Cowell's surf report · 2 ft
- Natural Bridges surf report · 3-4 ft
- Twin Lakes / Seabright surf report · 2-3 ft