Today across the Orange County coastal areas, the regional weather brings morning cloudiness and patchy fog that gradually transitions into mostly sunny skies by the afternoon. Air temperatures are peaking around 72° at the immediate beaches while reaching up to 78° further inland, accompanied by light morning winds that will shift out of the southwest up to 10 miles per hour after midday.
Along the shoreline, beaches are experiencing a high rip current risk with average breaking wave sizes tracking consistently between 3 to 5 feet, while the most exposed south-facing breaks are pulling in occasional set waves reaching up to 6 feet. Swimmers and surfers should exercise caution as these energetic waves generate powerful longshore currents.
Data from nearby offshore marine monitoring stations reveals a mixed regional swell environment. The primary Capistrano Beach and San Pedro South buoys indicate a dominant southern swell arriving from 190 degrees with a wave size of 3.0 feet and a long period of 15 seconds, which is intersecting smoothly with a secondary minor west-northwest swell coming from 260 degrees at a shorter 7-second interval.
The tidal cycle for the local coastline began with an early morning low tide of 0.6 feet at 2:11 AM, which filled into a morning high tide of 3.0 feet at 8:14 AM. This was followed by a afternoon low tide of 2.0 feet dropping at 12:45 PM, and the water level will slowly rise into a final strong high tide later this evening.
```