Santa Cruz County, California Weather and Marine Report
Report time: July 13, 2026, 1:51 PM PDT
Santa Cruz County is under a mostly cloudy coastal pattern today, with Santa Cruz around 79°F and light or calm winds near the shore, while the nearshore marine zone remains gentle enough for generally manageable conditions. NOAA guidance for the local area shows a high near 77°F with a low around 64°F, and the broader marine forecast keeps northwest winds light at about 7 to 9 kt through tonight.
Near the Santa Cruz buoy, the ocean is running with a significant wave height of about 2.6 ft, with swell around 2.0 ft at 14.3 sec from the SSW, plus a smaller west wind wave near 1.6 ft at 8.3 sec. That combination supports average wave sizes in the 2 to 3 ft range for exposed breaks, with occasional larger sets where the long-period swell lines up better.
For tides at Santa Cruz, NOAA tide predictions show a high around 5:32 AM near 2.93 ft, a low around 10:28 AM near 1.79 ft, and another high around 5:34 PM near 5.34 ft. In practical terms, the afternoon trend favors a rising tide into the evening high, which may soften some sandbars while improving water coverage along the coast.
Overall, the local picture is a mild summer day with modest surf, a long-period southwest-to-SSW swell signal, and light northwest marine flow that should keep conditions relatively orderly for most of the county shoreline.
raw data from noaa, curated by surforecast pacificwaverider