SAN MATEO COUNTY

Surf & Weather Report

Saturday, November 14, 2026 — Local Time: America/Los_Angeles (PST, UTC-8)
Coverage: Pacifica / Linda Mar / Rockaway to Half Moon Bay / Pillar Point / Mavericks area. Buoys: CDIP 029 Point Reyes, CDIP 156 Monterey Canyon Outer, NDBC 46026 San Francisco.

1. WAVE SIZES

Overall: XXXL / Triple-overhead-plus at exposed breaks. Massive long-period NW swell dominating. Not a beginner day. Many beach breaks closing out.

CDIP 029 — Point Reyes (closest northern swell sensor for San Mateo)

• Latest: 25.6 ft (7.8 m) at 18 sec — 12:00 PM PST observation window. Earlier: 28.2 ft at 18 sec, NW, at 9:26 AM PST.
• Water temp at buoy: 66.4°F / 19.1°C

CDIP 156 — Monterey Canyon Outer (southern swell sensor)

• Latest: 15.4 ft (4.7 m) at 15 sec, from W — 9:00 AM PST observation window.
• Water temp at buoy: 66.6°F / 19.2°C

NDBC 46026 — San Francisco, 18 NM west of San Francisco

• Wave height: 19 ft, Dominant period: 19 sec, Average period: 11.5 sec — 11:20 AM PST observation.

At the break — surfer terms

• Exposed west-facing beach breaks (Pacifica / Linda Mar outer bars, Half Moon Bay State Beach, Montara): Head-high to triple-overhead-plus on sets, frequently double-overhead-plus. Long-period sets closing out on many inside sections. Outside peaks breaking wide, with long lulls between very large sets.
• Sheltered / south-facing pockets and inside sections: Chest- to shoulder-high, with occasional head-high sets sneaking in. More makeable, but still powerful and shifting with the tide.
• Reef / point / harbor-mouth spots (Pillar Point area, Mavericks zone): Well overhead to triple-overhead-plus. Mavericks-type outer reef in the very large range. For experts only, with full safety support.
• Best window: Early tide push / mid-morning before full afternoon onshore wind. Expect size to stay huge through the afternoon, with sets feeling more disorganized as wind builds.

Translation: Buoy significant height is an average of the largest third of waves. Individual set waves at exposed breaks will be larger than the buoy height suggests, and breaking-face height will be larger again.

2. CURRENT WEATHER

• Conditions: Mostly cloudy, showers in the vicinity
• Current temp (Pacifica coast): 61°F
• Today’s high: 64°F (Pacifica) / 65°F (San Francisco) — Low tonight: 54°F Pacifica / 55°F San Francisco
• Current wind: S at 9 mph (Pacifica) — gentle breeze. San Mateo (bay side): SSW at 6 mph. NDBC 46026 earlier: WNW, variable with swell.
• Wind trend through today: Light southerly / variable this morning, trending more westerly / northwesterly and fresher through the afternoon as the system moves through. Expect onshore texture and chop increasing on exposed faces by mid-to-late afternoon. Rain chance rises sharply Sunday.
• Humidity: ~72% Pacifica / 81% San Francisco. Air quality: Good.
• Water temp: ~66°F at offshore buoys. Fullsuit conditions, booties recommended for reef / rocky entries.

3. TIDES

Station used: NOAA 9414458 — San Mateo Bridge (west end), Foster City. This is a Bay-side NOAA prediction station. Ocean-side (Pillar Point / Half Moon Bay) tide times will be close in phase but heights differ — use this as timing guidance for the San Mateo County coast, not for navigation.

Surf read: High tide early afternoon will fatten and soften beach breaks and push water onto rocks / seawalls at Pacifica. The evening dropping tide to a very low 0.4 ft will expose reef / rocks and increase power on outer bars. Watch for strong lateral current on the drop.

4. LATER TODAY & TOMORROW

Primary swell

• Direction: NW (approx. 300°-320°)
• Height: 25.6 ft at CDIP 029, 19 ft at NDBC 46026
• Period: 18-19 sec dominant
• Trend: Remains XXXL later today. Very long period means sets will be powerful, widely spaced, and inconsistent — long waits, then multiple huge set waves.

Secondary swell / windswell

• Direction: W (from CDIP 156)
• Height: 15.4 ft at CDIP 156
• Period: 15 sec
• Trend: Westerly energy reinforcing the NW primary, keeping south-facing pockets less sheltered than on a pure NW swell.

Surf trend

• Later today (Sat): Stays huge. Size holds, conditions degrade slowly as onshore wind / chop builds. Best surf is morning to early afternoon; afternoon becomes more raw and closed-out at beach breaks.
• Tomorrow (Sun, Nov 15): Still large, with rain arriving. San Francisco / Pacifica forecast: High 62-64°F, rain likely, chance rising to 90-100% by midday. Expect swell to remain well overhead at exposed breaks early, then gradually ease through the day, with onshore wind and rain making conditions messy. Check a fresh buoy update before going — do not rely on today’s numbers alone.

5. 12-HOUR WIND

HRRR run time: Not available in this edition — live browsing was temporarily limited while this report was compiled, so the latest NOAA/NWS HRRR hourly run could not be retrieved. No wind speeds have been invented. The table below is intentionally left as “Not retrieved” rather than estimated. Use the Current Weather wind trend above and a fresh NWS / NDBC check before paddling out.

Direction key: Direction is where wind is FROM, 16-point compass. For San Mateo County west-facing coast: N / NE = Offshore, W / NW = Onshore / Sideshore, S / SW = Sideshore / Cross-shore, depending on break orientation.

6. DAYLIGHT

Sunrise / sunset from Pacifica / San Francisco forecast for Nov 14, 2026. First light / total darkness are civil-twilight approximations for the same location and date. Daylight window is short — plan to be out well before dark, especially with the High Surf Warning.

Sources checked: CDIP 029 Point Reyes, CDIP 156 Monterey Canyon Outer, NDBC 46026 San Francisco, NWS San Francisco Bay Area High Surf Warning, NOAA CO-OPS tide prediction station 9414458, Pacifica / San Francisco current conditions and forecast.