Southern California Surf Forecast
Surf forecast for Southern California — from Point Conception south through San Diego. North Pacific winter swells and Southern hemisphere summer swells.
Southern California's coast — from Point Conception south through San Diego — faces a broad WSW with significant variation. North Pacific winter storms (Nov–Mar) produce W and NW swells which are in window for the entire coast. Southern hemisphere winter (May–Sep, opposite seasons) produces cleaner but smaller S swells which are in window mostly for breaks that face south through southwest — Newport, Black's, La Jolla.
The narrow continental shelf and abundant kelp tend to produce well-organized waves. Long-period NW swells refract heavily into the SoCal bight, often producing surf as far south as San Diego from systems that were aimed at Oregon. The Channel Islands offshore (Catalina, San Clemente) block some southerly energy from breaks like Huntington, but enhance others through diffraction.
Best months: November through March for size, June through August for clean smaller surf. Summer is famously crowded; winter sees big-wave specialists at outer reefs.
Water temps are mild for the Pacific — low 60s °F in winter, low 70s in summer. A 3/2 fullsuit covers most of the year for most surfers.