Wind in Santa Cruz
Hourly forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 3:58 pm (PDT)- Gusts
- 11 mph
- Beaufort scale
- 3 · gentle breeze
- Today's peak
- 12 mph at 3:00 pm
- In knots
- 8 kn
Today the wind in Santa Cruz is a gentle breeze from the west-southwest: 1 mph to 12 mph, peaking at 3:00 pm with gusts of 19 mph. No strong wind for the rest of the week.
Wind for the next 7 days, hour by hour
Arrows point where the wind blows to, every 12 hours. Each hour comes from the best model covering this spot: regional ones first (HRRR and NBM in the U.S., AROME, ICON-EU), then ECMWF and GFS.
- Today, Wed 28 1–12 mph · gusts 19 NNW · Beaufort 3
- Thu 29 1–6 mph · gusts 10 NNW · Beaufort 2
- Fri 30 2–6 mph · gusts 13 NW · Beaufort 2
- Sat 31 2–5 mph · gusts 11 N · Beaufort 2
- Sun 1 4–8 mph · gusts 15 NNW · Beaufort 3
- Mon 2 0–4 mph · gusts 8 NNE · Beaufort 2
- Tue 3 1–4 mph · gusts 10 NNE · Beaufort 2
Every 3 hours
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 8 |
| Gusts | 7 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 18 |
| Direction | NNE | NNE | NNE | NNE | SSW | W | WNW | N |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Model | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Gusts | 9 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
| Direction | NNE | N | N | NNW | SSW | WSW | W | WNW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Model | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Gusts | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| Direction | NNW | NNW | N | NNW | W | W | WNW | NNW |
| Beaufort | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Model | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Gusts | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Direction | N | NNE | NE | NE | N | W | NW | N |
| Beaufort | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Model | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM |
Do the models agree on the wind?
High confidenceThe models agree on the wind for the next few days.
What 6 forecast models say for the next few days. The closer they are, the more reliable the forecast.
| Wind (mph) | Today | Thu 29 | Fri 30 | Sat 31 | Sun 1 | Mon 2 | Tue 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECMWF | 615 | 614 | 819 | 613 | 816 | 715 | 513 |
| AIFS | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| GFS | 910 | 66 | 99 | 710 | 67 | 76 | 78 |
| ICON | 410 | 513 | 514 | 49 | 617 | 410 | 49 |
| HRRR | 1219 | 1013 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NBM | 715 | 410 | 613 | 511 | 815 | 48 | 410 |
| Confidence | high | high | high | high | high | high | high |
Each model's day runs midnight to midnight local time; models that reach fewer days are left blank. Rain: daily total. Wind: the day's highest average wind and, in small type, the strongest gust. Highlighted: values that stand out from the rest. The chance of rain comes from many runs of the same model with slightly different starting data.
Onshore or offshore wind?
Today, from the west-southwest: cross-onshore. A bit more surf at the shore and drift along the coast, toward land.
The coast here faces southwest. We work it out from the OpenStreetMap coastline.
How to read the Beaufort scale
| Force | Name | mph | At sea |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Light breeze | 4–7 | Small wavelets |
| 3 | Gentle breeze · today | 8–12 | Scattered whitecaps |
| 4 | Moderate breeze | 13–18 | Frequent whitecaps |
| 5 | Fresh breeze | 19–24 | Moderate waves, many whitecaps |
| 6 | Strong breeze | 25–31 | Large waves, foam crests |
| 7 | Near gale | 32–38 | Heaped sea, streaks of foam |
Questions about the wind in Santa CruzQuestions
What's the wind like today in Santa Cruz?
Gentle breeze from the west-southwest: 9 mph now, peaking at 12 mph at 3:00 pm with gusts of 19 mph.
Which day is windiest this week?
Wednesday 28: up to 12 mph from the north-northwest, with gusts of 19 mph.
Is it a good day to go fishing by boat?
Today the wind is gentle breeze and waves are 4.7 ft. No strong gusts expected this week. Always check official warnings before heading out.
Is today's wind onshore or offshore?
Cross-onshore: the coast faces southwest.
More about Santa Cruz today
Wind near Santa Cruz
- Davenport 11 mph WNW · 9.3 mi
- La Selva Beach 8 mph WSW · 9.5 mi
- Moss Landing 12 mph WNW · 18 mi
- Pacific Grove 8 mph NW · 25 mi
- Sand City 10 mph NW · 27 mi
- Mountain View 6 mph NNW · 29 mi
Only places with a different forecast: spots a few miles apart share the same model cell and wouldn't add anything.
Learn more
Wind: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0, with the best model for each spot and lead time (NOAA HRRR and NBM in the U.S., Météo-France AROME, DWD ICON-EU, ECMWF IFS and NOAA GFS; the table shows each hour's model); offshore, ECMWF and GFS at the nearest sea grid point, 12 mi away. Coast orientation: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Forecast from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) with models from ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France, DWD, Copernicus Marine and CAMS. Updated at 3:58 pm (local time).
Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from