Imperial Beach

Imperial Beach is a W-facing beach break in San Diego County, California, United States. It picks up swell from SSE to S and SSW to WNW, and land, islands, reefs or shallow banks block about 52% of the directions it faces. Offshore wind here blows from the E: light winds or E breezes usually mean the cleanest surf, while W onshores chop it up.

Rare slot: a Channel Islands gap lets in swell from 295.5° (WNW) and nothing either side. It only lines up when a storm sits in that exact direction, more than 310 km out. How slot swells work

Break

Beach

Faces

W (270°)

Best swell

SW to WNW (230°–282°), 9 s or longer

Best wind

NE to SE offshore, or glassy

Best surf height

3–6 ft at the beach

Swell window

SSE to S (163.5° to 191°); SSW to WNW (206° to 282°)

Rare slot

Channel Islands gap, 295.5° WNW

Offshore wind

E

Tide

NOAA station 9410120

Wave buoy

Point Loma South, CA (191) · 28 km away

Cams

None yet