Date: Sunday, August 23, 2026 | Time: 3:06 PM PDT
Coastal Weather Overview: Today in Santa Barbara County, sunny skies dominate the afternoon as morning coastal fog disperses. Expect an average daytime high temperature reaching 72°F along the coast, with current temperatures hovering near 68°F. Offshore and coastal wind speeds are currently moderate, blowing out of the west-northwest at 10 to 15 knots, occasionally gusting up to 20 knots in exposed western channel areas.
Tide Information: The local tidal cycle for Santa Barbara Harbor features a low tide of 0.27 feet at 2:16 AM, followed by a high tide of 3.73 feet at 9:15 AM. A second afternoon low tide dropped to 3.03 feet at 1:13 PM, leading into the final high tide of the day peaking at 5.45 feet at 7:23 PM.
Swell Data & Buoy Observations: Nearby buoy observations indicate primary swell activity driven by a west-northwest swell measuring 7.5 feet at an 8-second period from 316° recorded at the Harvest Buoy offshore. A secondary southerly swell component is reaching inner waters, measuring approximately 2.3 feet at a long 14-second period from 193° at the Topanga and Santa Monica Basin stations.
Outlook: Tomorrow will bring similar conditions with morning patchy fog clearing to sun, afternoon west winds building to 15 to 20 knots, and combined seas holding around 3 to 5 feet.