Monterey Bay

PZZ535 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area · issued Sat, Sep 26, 8:45 PM PDT

Small Craft Advisory in force. Tonight: W wind 10 to 15 kt, becoming NW around 5 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 8 seconds and SW 2 ft at 13 seconds. A slight chance of drizzle.

Monterey Bay on the map

The zone and the zones around it, tinted where a marine warning or advisory is in force. Tap a neighboring zone to open its forecast.

Small Craft Advisory

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys

Now

The nearest stations reporting each, as of Sun, Sep 27, 1:30 AM PDT.

Wind: 5 kt at MLSC1
Waves: 4.6 ft at 9 s at 46236
Water: 59°F at 46236

Alerts in force

Small Craft Advisory from Sun, Sep 27, 9:00 AM PDT until Mon, Sep 28, 3:00 AM PDT

Small Craft Advisory issued September 26 at 8:37PM PDT until September 28 at 3:00AM PDT by NWS San Francisco CA

The full text

* WHAT...West winds 10 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt expected.

* WHERE...Monterey Bay.

* WHEN...From 9 AM Sunday to 3 AM PDT Monday.

* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.

Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.

The forecast

Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area, issued Sat, Sep 26, 8:45 PM PDT, valid until Sun, Sep 27, 9:15 AM PDT. Wind in knots, seas in feet.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT

Tonight: W wind 10 to 15 kt, becoming NW around 5 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 8 seconds and SW 2 ft at 13 seconds. A slight chance of drizzle.
Sunday: NW wind around 5 kt, backing to W 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: NW 3 ft at 9 seconds and S 2 ft at 12 seconds. A slight chance of drizzle.
Sunday night: W wind 15 to 20 kt, becoming NW 10 to 15 kt after midnight. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 7 seconds. A slight chance of drizzle.
Monday: NW wind 5 to 10 kt, backing to W in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 4 ft at 9 seconds and S 2 ft at 12 seconds. A slight chance of drizzle in the morning.
Monday night: NW wind 10 to 15 kt, easing to around 5 kt after midnight. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 9 seconds.
Tuesday: N wind around 5 kt, backing to NW in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: W 4 ft at 10 seconds.
Tuesday night: NW wind 5 to 10 kt, easing to around 5 kt after midnight. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW 5 ft at 10 seconds and S 2 ft at 14 seconds.
Wednesday: N wind around 5 kt, backing to W in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 10 seconds and SW 2 ft at 15 seconds.
Wednesday night: NW wind around 5 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 10 seconds and SW 2 ft at 15 seconds.
Thursday: NW wind around 5 kt, backing to W in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft at 10 seconds.
Thursday night: W wind 5 to 10 kt, becoming N after midnight. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Wave Detail: NW 4 ft at 9 seconds.

Locally lower winds and seas across sheltered portions of the bay.

Synopsis

Synopsis for the Central California Coast and Bays Including the Monterey Bay

Greater Farallones...and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries...

Moderate north winds will persist through the weekend, becoming strong and gusty as high pressure builds over the the EPAC which will result in a tightening pressure gradient over the coastal waters, with the strongest gusts occuring along the outer coastal waters from Monterey Bay south to Big Sur. Tropical activity will produce long period southerly swell by the middle of the week.

Buoys and stations nearby

The latest report from each station within reach of the zone, nearest first. Distances in nautical miles from the middle of the zone.

Station	Distance	Wind	Waves	Water	Air	Pressure	Reported
46236 Monterey Canyon Outer, CA (156)	3 nm		4.6 ft at 9 s	59°F	57°F		Sun, Sep 27, 1:30 AM PDT
MLSC1 Moss Landing, South Harbor, CA	6 nm	5 kt				1013.3 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 1:30 AM PDT
46092 MBM1	6 nm	NW 10 kt				1012.7 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 12:08 AM PDT
MEYC1 9413450 - Monterey, CA	12 nm			63°F		1013.6 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 12:36 AM PDT
46042 MONTEREY - 27NM WNW of Monterey, CA	24 nm	NNW 14 kt, gusts 16		61°F	60°F	1012.9 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 1:10 AM PDT
46239 Point Sur, CA (157)	30 nm		7.2 ft at 10 s	62°F	59°F		Sun, Sep 27, 1:30 AM PDT

The past year

Warnings, watches and advisories the National Weather Service issued for this zone over the past 12 months, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet’s archive.

Product	Issued	Most recent
Gale Warning	15	Sun, Sep 13, 2026, 3:00 PM PDT
Special Marine Warning	11	Sat, Apr 11, 2026, 5:27 PM PDT
Storm Warning	1	Tue, Dec 23, 2025, 9:00 PM PST
Gale Watch	3	Sat, May 16, 2026, 3:00 PM PDT
Small Craft Advisory	73	Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 9:00 AM PDT
Dense Fog Advisory	7	Tue, Jun 2, 2026, 2:03 AM PDT

What this means

Marine forecasts give wind in knots (1 knot is 1.15 mph) and seas in feet, except the high seas forecasts, which give seas in meters. Seas are the significant wave height, the average of the highest third of the waves; individual waves may be more than twice that. On the Great Lakes the forecast gives waves, not seas. "Wave Detail" splits the seas into the wind waves and each swell, with its direction and period.

Each coastal office writes a Coastal Waters Forecast for the bays, sounds and ocean out to 20 to 60 nautical miles, or on the Great Lakes a Nearshore Marine Forecast within 5 nautical miles of shore; the Open Lakes Forecast covers the rest of each lake. The Ocean Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center write the Offshore Waters Forecasts out to about 250 nautical miles, and the High Seas Forecasts beyond. Forecasts are issued at least twice a day and updated when they go wrong.

Small Craft Advisory: Winds or conditions hazardous to small boats. The thresholds are set by each NWS region: typically sustained winds or frequent gusts of 20 to 25 knots up to 33 knots, and seas of 5 to 7 feet or more.
Gale Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 34 to 47 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Storm Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 48 to 63 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Hurricane Force Wind Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 64 knots or more, not from a tropical cyclone.
Special Marine Warning: A thunderstorm or squall over the water with winds or gusts of 34 knots or more, hail of 3/4 inch or more, or a waterspout, for up to two hours.
Hazardous Seas Warning: Wave heights or steepness at or above the office’s warning threshold, when the wind alone does not warrant a warning.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning: Spray freezing on a vessel at 2 cm (3/4 inch) an hour or more.
Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings: Tropical storm (34 to 63 knots) or hurricane (64 knots or more) conditions expected within 36 hours. Watches: possible within 48 hours.

Nearby

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys The hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zone Santa Cruz and Northern Monterey Bay Beaches Monterey and Big Sur Coast Beaches Every Pacific Coast zone

Sources

Coastal Waters Forecast CWFMTR from National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area, issued Sat, Sep 26, 8:45 PM PDT. Original at NWS. Buoy reports from the National Data Buoy Center. Past products from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Zone outlines from the NWS marine and offshore zone boundaries. Warnings and advisories from the NWS API, read 09:06 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.