Zuma Beach South Surf Report & Ideal Conditions

Live NOAA data · Updated 2026-08-26
As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Zuma Beach South is fair: the live 2–4 ft medium-period swell from the S is off its ideal W direction and is in its ideal size range, and the wind is calm from the E. Zuma Beach South is most often good on a 2–4 ft medium-period (8–16s) swell from the W, with glassy / no wind from the SW, on a high incoming tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here. It best suits improving and intermediate surfers.

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Best conditions for Zuma Beach South

Zuma Beach South is most often good on a 2–4 ft medium-period (8–16s) swell from the W, with glassy / no wind from the SW, on a high incoming tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here.

Ideal wave height2–4 ft
Ideal periodmedium-period (8–16s)
Best swell directionW
Best windglassy / no wind from the SW
Best tidehigh & incoming

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 2026-08-26 10:00 UTC). LazySurfer reads this same public NDBC data directly — no proprietary smoothing. New to buoy data? See how to read a NOAA buoy.

Wave height2.3 ft
Dominant period13s
Swell directionSSW (194°)
Wave buoyNDBC station 46268 (14 mi away)
Wind1 kt from the ESE — NDBC ICAC1 (18 mi away)

Zuma Beach South 7-day surf forecast

Model wave & wind outlook for Zuma Beach South from NOAA's GEFS-Wave model, refreshed daily. Heights are open-water swell (face heights at the break are typically larger).

DaySwell heightPeriod & directionWind
Wed Aug 264–5 ft12s S7 kt SSW
Thu Aug 274–5 ft12s SSW7 kt SE
Fri Aug 284–5 ft18s SSW9 kt SW
Sat Aug 295–6 ft17s SSW9 kt SW
Sun Aug 305–6 ft15s SSW6 kt S
Mon Aug 314–5 ft14s SSW8 kt SE
Tue Sep 14–5 ft13s S7 kt SE

Tide

Predicted tide for the next two days from NOAA station 9410840 (Santa Monica, Municipal Pier), the nearest tide station (18 mi away). Times local.

Zuma Beach South tide chart for 2026-08-26 Predicted tide height in feet over two days, with high and low markers. 12a6a12p6p12a6a12p6p 4.6ft12:42a0.2ft8:28a3.6ft3:51p3.0ft8:09p4.1ft1:41a0.5ft9:13a4.0ft4:29p2.6ft10:00pNow0.34.6

Frequently asked

Is Zuma Beach South working right now?

As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Zuma Beach South is fair: the live 2–4 ft medium-period swell from the S is off its ideal W direction and is in its ideal size range, and the wind is calm from the E.

Is Zuma Beach South good for beginners?

Zuma Beach 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 Zuma Beach South?

Zuma Beach South tends to be best on a high incoming 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 Zuma Beach South?

The best swell direction for Zuma Beach 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 Zuma Beach South?

Zuma Beach South is most often good when it's glassy, with little to no wind — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have rated highest here. Light or offshore wind keeps the wave face clean; check the live report on this page for current wind.

Where does LazySurfer's surf data for Zuma Beach 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 46268) and the nearest NOAA tide station (Santa Monica, Municipal Pier). The same raw readings NOAA publishes, with no proprietary smoothing.

Does LazySurfer predict whether Zuma Beach 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

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