About SwellStatus

SwellStatus is a surf forecast for Southern California, told as a short story you can watch or read. It follows each swell from the storm that made it to the beach where it lands. It's made in San Diego by one surfer.

What's on it

The story. A few minutes on what's in the water and what's coming, with the map, the swells' names and the numbers.

The Swell tracker. Every swell on its way, when it was born, when it lands and how much of the surf it makes. Each one has a name, like "Kuril groundswell · 10/5": where it came from and the day its storm was born.

The spot pages. Surf, wind and tide for each break, hour by hour, and how it takes a swell.

The story covers Southern California, Santa Barbara to the border. The spot pages are San Diego County's so far; a spot joins the site once its guide is written.

Where the numbers come from

The National Weather Service's coastal forecasts and discussions, NOAA's wave model and tide predictions, the Scripps Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) buoys and nearshore model, and the National Hurricane Center's advisories. Every story has a Source button that opens the bulletins it was written from.

The surf heights at each beach come from CDIP's nearshore numbers. Once a buoy has seen a swell, its size is the buoy's reading; before that it's the model's, and we say which. When in doubt we call it smaller, not bigger. We don't tell you whether to go. That's your call.

What it costs

It's free and has a few ads. A shop can put it on a TV for free. A screen with the shop's own logo, spots and promos is paid. See SwellStatus on your TV.

Contact

Email hello@swellstatus.com. For how the site treats what it keeps about you, see privacy.