Today's Surf Conditions at T-Street
Spot Conditions Map
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Today's Surf & Wind Forecast (Hourly)
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Spot Overview & Description
T-Street is a quirky San Clemente classic, built on consistency but seasoned with a wild, unpredictable character. A chaotic blend of sandbars, reef, rock, and seaweed shapes its personality, offering lefts and rights that unfold across three distinct zones: the Reef, Cropley’s, and Beach House. When a strong south swell pulses in, lefts set up on the outside reef—starting slow and mellow before peeling over an inside rock shelf into a faster, more critical section. Come winter, the script flips: longer, workable rights wrap off the reef, finishing in a collapsing shorebreak that demands your full attention.
Best Surf Season & Climatology
Best Surf Season (October - March)
The North Pacific roars to life during the autumn months, and T-Street feels the full force of the winter swell window. From October through March, a steady procession of extratropical cyclones marching across the Gulf of Alaska and the far North Pacific generate long-period SW to W swells that wrap perfectly into this southwest-facing beach. Combined with frequent high-pressure systems over the Great Basin that deliver offshore flow from the NE to NNE quadrants, the result is clean, powerful surf. Wave heights average between 0.8m and 1.0m, with periods often exceeding 12 seconds — punchy, rippable waves that hold up well. The peak months of December through February see ideal wind conditions over 50% of the time, making this the most consistent window for quality surf.
Fair Surf Season (April & September)
As the winter storm track begins to weaken in April, the swell regime shifts. Long-period SW to W groundswells still arrive with respectable height (0.9-1.0m average) and excellent period (13-14s), but the trade-off is a marked increase in onshore flow. The wind is ideal only 22% of the time in April, and by May it plummets to 10%. Still, when a strong North Pacific low lingers and a weak coastal eddy holds on, T-Street can fire. September offers a similar transitional feel: the first autumn storms start to rekindle the swell window, though the lingering summer wind pattern — dominated by westerly and southwesterly breezes — keeps the clean-surf percentage low (18%). These months are a gamble, but the payoff can be a glassy session with waist-to-chest high lines peeling down the point.
Low Surf Season (May - August)
Summer brings the doldrums to T-Street. The North Pacific storm track retreats northward, and the primary swell source shifts to a weak, intermittent mix of Southern Hemisphere groundswell and local windswell. Average wave heights drop to 0.8m, and while the periods remain deceptively long (13-14s), the energy is often too anemic to produce quality shape. The bigger culprit, however, is the wind. From May through August, the prevailing onshore flow from the SW and W directions dominates, with ideal offshore winds occurring only 8-10% of the time. This creates choppy, disorganized conditions most days. The few bright spots come when a rogue SW groundswell coincides with a rare early-morning northeast land breeze — but these windows are fleeting. It’s a time for longboards and low expectations.
Detailed Surf Information for T-Street
Detailed Surf Forecast
Access our detailed 8-day swell and wind forecast charts for T-Street with tidal graphs, period ranges, and daily forecast text summaries.
Swell & Wind Statistics
Explore historical swell consistency, wave heights, and offshore wind windows month-by-month, compiled from over 40 years of data.
Historical Surf Report
Browse the historical database archives to view past wave reports and understand spot climatology during specific years and months.
