La Jolla conditions
La Jolla visibility today: take Wednesday, the rain wants Friday
Third straight B. Then about an inch of rain shows up and the model drops Friday to a D.
La Jolla visibility today, Wednesday, Oct. 21: the Dive Pro beta model says B. That's 15 to 24 feet, medium confidence. The model puts about nine in ten on the B, with a D as the long shot. Third B in a row. A good day, not a postcard.
The swell is small and steady. The main swell is about 2.8 feet at roughly 11 and a half seconds out of the south-southwest, with a smaller one under 2 feet from the same direction. Period is the gap between waves. A longer gap means more push reaching the bottom, which is how sand ends up in your mask in the shallows. The model's surf number tops out around 3.6 feet. Fine off a deeper entry. A little stirred on the sand.
Wind is the clock today. The model has it at 3 to 5 miles an hour through 10 a.m., about 10 by noon, then mid-teens all afternoon, peaking near 19 around 7 p.m. with gusts near 28. That's a whitecap afternoon. Go early.
The tide lines up with that. In the model's tide numbers, there's a high of about 4.4 feet around 7 a.m., falling to a 2-foot low at 12:58 p.m. The model counts the falling tide as a small negative, because outgoing water is less likely to pull cleaner offshore water toward the beach. So the best window is the morning, near the high, before the wind and the ebb both get going.
Here's the actual story. Rain. The model's weather feed has about 1.1 inches falling Thursday and another quarter inch Friday. Thursday still reads B, 15 to 24, because the rain hasn't reached the water yet. Friday drops to a D, 5 to 9 feet, low confidence. That's runoff. Rain rinses streets, canyons and storm drains into the ocean, and it shows up as brown, murky water along the edges. It carries bacteria too. San Diego County's standing advice is to stay out of the ocean for 72 hours after rain.
Bacteria is already an issue at one spot. As of Tuesday morning's County beach list, La Jolla Cove has been under an advisory since Sept. 29. Children's Pool has its usual long-running one. The La Jolla Shores stations and WindanSea were not on the list.
Water is warm. The nearshore buoy off Scripps read 72.7 degrees. Enjoy it before the storm.
The Scripps Pier camera's latest frame is from Tuesday afternoon. It shoots around midday and late afternoon, so a morning picture from yesterday is normal. The automatic camera grade didn't post, so today's number is the model on its own.
The play: today is the day. Get in before 10. Thursday is a B on paper, but if the rain arrives early I'd trust that less. After the storm, give it a few days. Odds, not a lock.
The usual reminder. This model is beta. It hasn't been checked against a full season of real dive reports yet. Treat it like a buddy's read in the parking lot, not a promise. Daily numbers live on the La Jolla forecast.
Dive spots: La Jolla visibility, Monterey Breakwater, McAbee Beach, Lovers Point, Point Lobos, Monastery Beach, Catalina Wrigley, and Anacapa.
Sources: Dive Pro La Jolla beta forecast, published 21 October 2026 for forecast dates 21 to 23 October 2026 (model_outputs/latest_forecast.json and forecast_10day.json). NDBC station 46254 (Scripps nearshore) water temperature via the Dive Pro forecast feed. San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality beach and bay water quality, checked 20 October 2026. Scripps Pier camera.