Cardiff Reef South Surf Report & Ideal Conditions
See your personalized forecast for Cardiff Reef South
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Download LazySurfer →Best conditions for Cardiff Reef South
Cardiff Reef South is most often good on a 2–4 ft short-period (under 8s) swell from the W, with light wind from the NW, on a high outgoing tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here.
| Ideal wave height | 2–4 ft |
| Ideal period | short-period (under 8s) |
| Best swell direction | W |
| Best wind | light wind from the NW |
| Best tide | high & outgoing |
These best-conditions estimates come from real sessions LazySurfer users rated highly at this break — not an editorial guess (high-confidence read). In the app, LazySurfer's custom deep-learning model predicts your own 1–5★ rating at about 90% exact-match accuracy (97.6% within one star). How LazySurfer works →
Current conditions
Latest reading from the nearest NOAA buoys (UTC 2026-10-25 12:56 UTC). LazySurfer reads this same public NDBC data directly — no proprietary smoothing. New to buoy data? See how to read a NOAA buoy.
| Wave height | 2.3 ft |
| Dominant period | 14s |
| Swell direction | SW (226°) |
| Wave buoy | NDBC station 46274 (4 mi away) |
| Wind | 8 kt from the E — NDBC LJPC1 (10 mi away) |
Cardiff Reef South 7-day surf forecast
Model wave & wind outlook for Cardiff Reef South from NOAA's GEFS-Wave model, refreshed daily. Heights are open-water swell (face heights at the break are typically larger).
| Day | Swell height | Period & direction | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Oct 25 | 3 ft | 13s SW | 9 kt NW |
| Mon Oct 26 | 3 ft | 14s SW | 10 kt NW |
| Tue Oct 27 | 3–4 ft | 16s SW | 8 kt WSW |
| Wed Oct 28 | 3–4 ft | 16s SW | 8 kt SSW |
| Thu Oct 29 | 4 ft | 15s SW | 9 kt S |
| Fri Oct 30 | 4 ft | 15s SW | 9 kt WSW |
| Sat Oct 31 | 4 ft | 14s SW | 9 kt ENE |
Frequently asked
Is Cardiff Reef South working right now?
As of the latest buoy reading (2026-10-25 12:56 UTC), Cardiff Reef South is marginal: the live 2–4 ft medium-period swell from the SW is off its ideal W direction and is in its ideal size range, and the wind is moderate from the E.
Is Cardiff Reef South good for beginners?
Cardiff Reef South is best for improving and intermediate surfers — it's most often good on 2–4 ft surf, manageable on its smaller days but a step up from true beginner conditions. Conditions change daily, so always check the live report on this page before paddling out.
What's the best tide for Cardiff Reef South?
Cardiff Reef South tends to be best on a high outgoing tide — the tide stage LazySurfer surfers have rated highest here. Tide changes how the swell breaks, so check the two-day tide chart on this page for today's high and low times.
What swell direction is best for Cardiff Reef South?
The best swell direction for Cardiff Reef South is from the west (W). Swell arriving from the west lines up best with how this break faces, which is when LazySurfer surfers have rated it highest.
What's the best wind for Cardiff Reef South?
Cardiff Reef South is most often good with light wind from the northwest (NW) — the wind LazySurfer surfers logged on their best-rated sessions here. Wind direction grooms or chops the wave face, so check the live report for current wind.
Where does LazySurfer's surf data for Cardiff Reef South come from?
LazySurfer reads public data directly from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the National Weather Service — the nearest NDBC wave buoy (station 46274) and the nearest NOAA tide station (La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf)). The same raw readings NOAA publishes, with no proprietary smoothing.
Does LazySurfer predict whether Cardiff Reef South is good for me?
Yes. LazySurfer trains a custom deep-learning model — a PyTorch neural network with per-user embeddings, retrained weekly on real logged surf sessions from the LazySurfer community — to predict the 1-to-5 star rating you personally would give, rather than a single average rating for everyone.
Nearby spots
- George's — 0 mi
- San Elijo State Beach — 0 mi
- Pipes — 1 mi
- Seaside Reef — 1 mi
- 25th St — 3 mi
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