How often do conditions match?

No opportunity windows are predicted in the next 10 days. Conditions can change quickly, so check back for updates.

More Dramatic Seascapes in California Coast

Rule Dramatic Seascapes

Big Sur - Dramatic Seascapes - California Coast

Q: What conditions does Dramatic Seascapes look for?

Coastal Drama Score: ≥ 75.0%. Significant Wave Height: ≥ 1.5m. Visibility: ≥ 5000.0m. Wind Gusts: ≤ 22.0m/s. Precipitation Chance: ≤ 30.0%

Big Sur, California, United States

Dramatic coastal photography conditions - powerful waves combined with atmospheric drama and good visibility for seascape shots.

No opportunities right now

Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Dramatic Seascapes opportunities in the next 14 days

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Rule requirements (key thresholds)

Coastal Drama Score · ≥ 75.0% Significant Wave Height · ≥ 1.5m Visibility · ≥ 5000.0m Wind Gusts · ≤ 22.0m/s

Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.

Most common blockers (next 72 hours)

Coastal Drama Score 100% failing

Significant Wave Height 100% failing

Precipitation Chance 69% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions

Coastal Drama Score

Wave Height0.1m

Swell Height0.1m

Wind Speed3.5m/s (calm conditions)

Cloud Cover86%

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Los_Angeles

No opportunities in the next 10 days

See the blocker timeline below to understand which conditions are preventing matches.

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast identifies when dramatic conditions align for coastal photography along California's legendary shoreline. We track cloud drama, visibility, and wind patterns to predict when the coast will come alive with photogenic conditions.

California's 840-mile coastline offers endless variety—from the towering cliffs of Big Sur to the sea stacks of Mendocino to the coves of Laguna Beach. The interplay between Pacific weather systems and the coastal mountains creates ever-changing conditions that can transform familiar locations.

What makes the California coast special for dramatic photography:

Dynamic weather - Pacific storms bring dramatic skies, and clearing conditions create spectacular light
Diverse geography - Sea stacks, arches, waterfalls, cliffs, and beaches in endless variety
Fog and mist - Marine layer creates moody atmosphere, especially summer mornings
Year-round access - Mild climate means photography opportunities in every season

The best dramatic conditions often occur during and after winter storms (November-March), when clearing skies can produce spectacular light. Summer brings reliable morning fog that burns off by midday, creating soft, ethereal conditions. Wind patterns affect wave action—some drama is good, but excessive gusts make shooting difficult. Check our forecast to time your coastal adventures.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour

0matching hours in the next 95 hours

AND logic: all conditions required

Meets requirement

Misses requirement

Time America/Los_Angeles	Coastal Drama Score ≥ 75.0%	Significant Wave Height ≥ 1.5m	Visibility ≥ 5000.0m	Wind Gusts ≤ 22.0m/s	Precipitation Chance ≤ 30.0%
Tue, Feb 17
11:00	2.4%	0.09m	2300m	14m/s	100%
12:00	1.9%	0.09m	1351m	15m/s	100%
13:00	2.7%	0.09m	821m	15m/s	100%
14:00	5.7%	0.05m	429m	16m/s	100%
15:00	6.2%	0.11m	922m	17m/s	100%
16:00	5.9%	0.03m	247m	16m/s	100%
17:00	7.1%	0.05m	171m	17m/s	100%
18:00	9.6%	0.04m	181m	15m/s	100%
19:00	2.8%	0.08m	255m	13m/s	100%
20:00	2.3%	0.03m	146m	11m/s	100%
21:00	0.9%	0.03m	139m	8.1m/s	100%
22:00	1.2%	0.03m	624m	12m/s	100%
23:00	1.9%	0.03m	195m	8.9m/s	100%
Wed, Feb 18
24:00	0.9%	0.02m	1374m	10m/s	100%
01:00	1.2%	0.02m	544m	10m/s	100%
02:00	4.3%	0.08m	22590m	9.7m/s	100%
03:00	3.7%	0.07m	22268m	8.8m/s	100%
04:00	3.3%	0.13m	23283m	9.2m/s	100%
05:00	3.3%	0.02m	21845m	7.1m/s	92%
06:00	6.4%	0.05m	5649m	6.8m/s	85%
07:00	23%	0.07m	21777m	6.2m/s	78%
08:00	26%	0.08m	22698m	7.3m/s	84%
09:00	19%	0.08m	22804m	6.5m/s	90%
10:00	9.6%	0.05m	5949m	6.1m/s	95%
11:00	8.3%	0.08m	22822m	5.6m/s	94%
12:00	7.5%	0.11m	22927m	5.2m/s	93%
13:00	4.2%	0.14m	14325m	5.6m/s	91%
14:00	7%	0.17m	23149m	5.3m/s	92%
15:00	3.2%	0.19m	2159m	4.7m/s	93%
16:00	2.6%	0.22m	625m	4.6m/s	94%
17:00	6.3%	0.23m	274m	4.4m/s	92%
18:00	4.9%	0.25m	512m	4.3m/s	89%
19:00	1.3%	0.26m	928m	3.8m/s	87%
20:00	1.3%	0.27m	1020m	3m/s	91%
21:00	1.4%	0.27m	603m	1.1m/s	96%
22:00	1.4%	0.28m	2410m	0.8m/s	100%
23:00	3.3%	0.26m	22683m	1.8m/s	96%
Thu, Feb 19
24:00	1.8%	0.24m	24135m	3.5m/s	92%
01:00	1.8%	0.22m	10985m	4.5m/s	88%
02:00	1.5%	0.2m	173m	7.9m/s	92%
03:00	1.6%	0.19m	146m	9.6m/s	95%
04:00	1.6%	0.17m	133m	15m/s	99%
05:00	1.4%	0.17m	69m	9.6m/s	98%
06:00	5.1%	0.16m	2093m	11m/s	98%
07:00	9.3%	0.16m	15902m	12m/s	98%
08:00	6.1%	0.18m	296m	13m/s	98%
09:00	5.1%	0.21m	542m	15m/s	99%
10:00	3%	0.23m	2783m	13m/s	100%
11:00	2.8%	0.33m	1969m	13m/s	94%
12:00	2.4%	0.42m	4013m	13m/s	88%
13:00	3.4%	0.52m	7322m	12m/s	82%
14:00	6.2%	0.53m	16741m	13m/s	85%
15:00	12%	0.54m	22669m	14m/s	88%
16:00	9.8%	0.55m	22776m	14m/s	91%
17:00	9.9%	0.54m	24135m	13m/s	79%
18:00	11%	0.52m	23066m	13m/s	67%
19:00	3.2%	0.51m	22961m	12m/s	55%
20:00	3.2%	0.46m	22908m	11m/s	59%
21:00	3.3%	0.42m	22960m	12m/s	64%
22:00	4.1%	0.37m	22961m	11m/s	69%
23:00	3.3%	0.36m	22884m	9.6m/s	62%
Fri, Feb 20
24:00	3.7%	0.36m	22670m	8.5m/s	56%
01:00	3.5%	0.35m	22668m	7.7m/s	50%
02:00	3.1%	0.34m	22564m	7.1m/s	46%
03:00	3.4%	0.32m	22564m	5.9m/s	42%
04:00	3.8%	0.31m	22563m	3.4m/s	39%
05:00	2.7%	0.31m	22569m	3.5m/s	26%
06:00	7.8%	0.31m	22564m	1.8m/s	13%
07:00	9.2%	0.31m	22564m	1.8m/s	0%
08:00	13%	0.34m	22567m	1.3m/s	13%
09:00	5.2%	0.36m	24135m	0.44m/s	26%
10:00	7.3%	0.39m	22980m	1.2m/s	39%
11:00	7.3%	0.4m	22969m	1.3m/s	26%
12:00	6%	0.41m	12610m	1.7m/s	13%
13:00	7.3%	0.42m	24018m	2m/s	0%
14:00	8.6%	0.41m	24135m	1.5m/s	0%
15:00	8.3%	0.39m	24135m	1.9m/s	0%
16:00	11%	0.38m	24135m	1.7m/s	0%
17:00	14%	0.4m	24135m	1.9m/s	0%
18:00	14%	0.41m	24135m	2.1m/s	0%
19:00	2.4%	0.43m	24135m	2.3m/s	0%
20:00	4.4%	0.45m	24135m	2.5m/s	0%
21:00	4%	0.46m	24135m	2.6m/s	0%
22:00	2.5%	0.48m	24135m	2.8m/s	0%
23:00	2.5%	0.46m	24135m	3.9m/s	4.6%
Sat, Feb 21
24:00	2.5%	0.45m	24135m	5m/s	9.1%
01:00	2.5%	0.43m	24135m	6.2m/s	14%
02:00	2.5%	0.39m	24135m	6.7m/s	22%
03:00	2.5%	0.35m	24135m	7.2m/s	31%
04:00	2.5%	0.31m	24135m	7.7m/s	39%
05:00	2.7%	0.28m	24135m	9.5m/s	39%
06:00	7.9%	0.26m	24135m	11m/s	39%
07:00	8.9%	0.23m	24135m	13m/s	39%
08:00	8.2%	0.23m	24135m	13m/s	33%
09:00	7.4%	0.24m	24135m	13m/s	28%

How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity).

What does Coastal Drama Score mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time America/Los_Angeles	High Clouds %	Low Clouds %	Mid-Level Clouds %	Primary Swell Height m	Primary Wave Direction °	Sea Salt AOD (550nm)	Solar Elevation °	Total Cloud Coverage %	Wind Direction °	Wind Speed m/s	Wind Wave Height m	Wind Wave Period s
Wed, Feb 18 Sunrise 06:51 Sunset 17:50
11:00 ☾	0%	86%	0%	0.05m	137°	0.09	39°	86%	315°	3.5m/s	0.09m	9.8s
12:00 ☾	0%	85%	0%	0.05m	92°	0.09	42°	85%	296°	3.3m/s	0.12m	6s
13:00 ☾	0%	96%	6%	0.05m	47°	0.09	41°	96%	278°	3.8m/s	0.16m	2.2s
14:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.06m	46°	0.07	37°	100%	282°	3.4m/s	0.18m	2.2s
15:00 ☾	0%	100%	8%	0.07m	44°	0.08	29°	100%	284°	3m/s	0.2m	2.3s
16:00 ☾	0%	100%	6%	0.08m	43°	0.09	20°	100%	288°	2.5m/s	0.22m	2.3s
17:00 ☾	0%	100%	9%	0.08m	44°	0.07	9.2°	100%	272°	2.2m/s	0.23m	2.4s
18:00 ☾	5%	100%	5%	0.07m	46°	0.08	-2.4°	100%	282°	2.2m/s	0.24m	2.5s
19:00 ☾	5%	100%	41%	0.07m	48°	0.09	-14°	100%	281°	2.1m/s	0.25m	2.5s
20:00 ☾	7%	100%	27%	0.09m	50°	0.09	-27°	100%	280°	1.5m/s	0.26m	2.6s
21:00 ☾	0%	96%	5%	0.1m	53°	0.07	-38°	96%	329°	0.22m/s	0.27m	2.7s
22:00 ☾	0%	94%	6%	0.12m	55°	0.08	-50°	94%	60°	1m/s	0.28m	2.8s
23:00 ☾	0%	91%	14%	0.13m	98°	0.08	-59°	91%	134°	1.6m/s	0.25m	3.4s
Thu, Feb 19 Sunrise 06:50 Sunset 17:51
24:00 ☾	0%	100%	100%	0.15m	140°	0.08	-65°	100%	152°	2.5m/s	0.21m	4s
01:00 ☾	0%	100%	99%	0.16m	182°	0.08	-63°	100%	156°	2.9m/s	0.18m	4.7s
02:00 ☾	0%	100%	100%	0.16m	186°	0.07	-56°	100%	146°	4.7m/s	0.14m	4.9s
03:00 ☾	0%	100%	100%	0.15m	189°	0.05	-46°	100%	168°	4.4m/s	0.1m	5.1s
04:00 ☾	0%	100%	95%	0.15m	192°	0.08	-35°	100%	184°	6m/s	0.06m	5.3s
05:00 ☾	0%	98%	0%	0.15m	193°	0.06	-23°	98%	202°	4.8m/s	0.06m	5.3s
06:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.15m	194°	0.06	-11°	100%	244°	6.8m/s	0.06m	5.3s
07:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.15m	195°	0.06	1.5°	100%	249°	7m/s	0.06m	5.3s
08:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.17m	195°	0.06	13°	100%	269°	7.8m/s	0.08m	5.5s
09:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.2m	195°	0.08	23°	100%	281°	8m/s	0.11m	5.7s
10:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.22m	195°	0.09	32°	100%	283°	6.3m/s	0.13m	5.9s
11:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.2m	215°	0.09	39°	100%	294°	6.1m/s	0.25m	5s
12:00 ☾	0%	100%	0%	0.19m	234°	0.1	42°	100%	294°	5.8m/s	0.36m	4.1s
13:00 ☾	0%	99%	0%	0.17m	253°	0.09	42°	99%	305°	5.2m/s	0.48m	3.2s
14:00 ☾	0%	98%	0%	0.17m	253°	0.08	37°	98%	313°	6.5m/s	0.49m	3.3s
15:00 ☾	0%	80%	0%	0.17m	253°	0.07	30°	80%	317°	8m/s	0.5m	3.3s
16:00 ☾	0%	81%	0%	0.17m	253°	0.06	20°	81%	319°	7.5m/s	0.51m	3.4s
17:00 ☾	0%	87%	0%	0.21m	247°	-	9.4°	87%	330°	6.3m/s	0.47m	3.7s
18:00 ☾	0%	92%	0%	0.25m	241°	-	-2.2°	92%	333°	5.8m/s	0.43m	4.1s
19:00 ☾	0%	95%	0%	0.29m	235°	-	-14°	95%	336°	5.4m/s	0.39m	4.4s
20:00 ☾	0%	94%	0%	0.27m	226°	-	-26°	94%	331°	5.5m/s	0.35m	4.7s
21:00 ☾	0%	83%	0%	0.26m	218°	-	-38°	83%	337°	5.3m/s	0.31m	5s
22:00 ☾	62%	91%	0%	0.24m	209°	-	-49°	91%	334°	4.9m/s	0.27m	5.3s
23:00 ☾	100%	83%	5%	0.22m	204°	-	-59°	100%	337°	4.5m/s	0.26m	4.7s
Fri, Feb 20 Sunrise 06:49 Sunset 17:52
24:00 ☾	64%	100%	39%	0.21m	199°	-	-64°	100%	342°	3.4m/s	0.24m	4s
01:00 ☾	100%	100%	36%	0.19m	193°	-	-63°	100%	343°	3m/s	0.23m	3.3s
02:00 ☾	100%	100%	5%	0.18m	199°	-	-56°	100%	341°	2.8m/s	0.23m	3.9s
03:00 ☾	100%	100%	81%	0.18m	204°	-	-46°	100%	348°	2.2m/s	0.23m	4.5s
04:00 ☾	100%	100%	79%	0.17m	209°	-	-35°	100%	1°	1.6m/s	0.23m	5.1s
05:00 ☾	100%	100%	100%	0.17m	247°	-	-23°	100%	357°	1.7m/s	0.23m	4.4s
06:00 ☾	100%	100%	100%	0.16m	284°	-	-11°	100%	33°	1.4m/s	0.24m	3.6s
07:00 ☾	91%	69%	100%	0.16m	321°	-	1.7°	100%	45°	1.5m/s	0.24m	2.9s
08:00 ☾	20%	89%	100%	0.17m	232°	-	13°	100%	70°	1.2m/s	0.28m	3.1s
09:00 ☾	4%	94%	86%	0.17m	142°	-	23°	96%	118°	0.23m/s	0.32m	3.2s
10:00 ☾	4%	95%	96%	0.18m	52°	-	33°	96%	237°	0.84m/s	0.36m	3.3s
11:00 ☾	0%	90%	100%	0.21m	52°	-	39°	100%	227°	1.2m/s	0.34m	3.4s
12:00 ☾	0%	89%	98%	0.24m	51°	-	43°	98%	234°	1.6m/s	0.33m	3.4s
13:00 ☾	0%	94%	100%	0.27m	50°	-	42°	100%	255°	1.9m/s	0.31m	3.5s
14:00 ☾	0%	77%	59%	0.25m	52°	-	38°	78%	263°	1.5m/s	0.32m	3.5s
15:00 ☾	0%	87%	77%	0.22m	54°	-	30°	87%	258°	1.9m/s	0.34m	3.5s
16:00 ☾	0%	80%	11%	0.2m	56°	-	20°	80%	247°	1.6m/s	0.35m	3.6s
17:00 ☾	3%	55%	7%	0.23m	57°	-	9.6°	56%	217°	1.8m/s	0.35m	3.7s
18:00 ☾	5%	30%	4%	0.27m	58°	-	-2°	32%	187°	2m/s	0.36m	3.7s
19:00 ☾	8%	5%	0%	0.3m	59°	-	-14°	8%	157°	2.2m/s	0.36m	3.8s
20:00 ☾	39%	5%	33%	0.3m	59°	-	-26°	39%	142°	2.5m/s	0.38m	3.8s
21:00 ☾	69%	5%	67%	0.29m	58°	-	-38°	69%	128°	2.8m/s	0.39m	3.8s
22:00 ☾	100%	5%	100%	0.29m	58°	-	-49°	100%	113°	3.2m/s	0.41m	3.8s
23:00 ☾	100%	5%	97%	0.23m	58°	-	-58°	100%	127°	3.6m/s	0.43m	3.7s
Sat, Feb 21 Sunrise 06:47 Sunset 17:53
24:00 ☾	100%	5%	95%	0.17m	57°	-	-64°	100%	141°	4m/s	0.45m	3.6s
01:00 ☾	100%	5%	92%	0.11m	57°	-	-63°	100%	156°	4.4m/s	0.47m	3.5s
02:00 ☾	100%	3%	95%	0.13m	59°	-	-56°	100%	158°	5m/s	0.42m	3.3s
03:00 ☾	100%	2%	97%	0.15m	60°	-	-46°	100%	159°	5.6m/s	0.38m	3.1s
04:00 ☾	100%	1%	99%	0.17m	62°	-	-34°	100%	161°	6.2m/s	0.33m	3s
05:00 ☾	100%	1%	89%	0.18m	66°	-	-22°	100%	165°	8.1m/s	0.3m	2.9s
06:00 ☾	100%	1%	79%	0.2m	69°	-	-10°	100%	168°	10m/s	0.27m	2.8s
07:00 ☾	100%	1%	69%	0.21m	72°	-	1.9°	100%	172°	12m/s	0.24m	2.7s
08:00 ☾	100%	5%	79%	0.18m	73°	-	13°	100%	168°	11m/s	0.25m	2.7s
09:00 ☾	100%	10%	90%	0.16m	73°	-	24°	100%	163°	11m/s	0.25m	2.7s
10:00 ☾	100%	14%	100%	0.13m	74°	-	33°	100%	159°	10m/s	0.26m	2.7s

How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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