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

Bodega Bay - 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%

Bodega Bay, 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

Currently

Real-time conditions

Coastal Drama Score

15%

Wave Height1.5m

Swell Height0.1m

Wind Speed5.2m/s (moderate winds)

Cloud Cover82%

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%
Mon, Apr 13
12:00	20%	1.6m	24135m	2m/s	0%
13:00	21%	1.6m	24134m	2.9m/s	0%
14:00	20%	1.5m	24135m	4.9m/s	0%
15:00	38%	5.5m	24135m	6.4m/s	0%
16:00	43%	3.4m	24134m	8.5m/s	0%
17:00	46%	3.5m	24135m	10m/s	0%
18:00	56%	3.5m	24135m	12m/s	0%
19:00	68%	3.5m	24135m	11m/s	0%
20:00	71%	3.4m	24134m	10m/s	0%
21:00	21%	3.5m	24135m	9.6m/s	0%
22:00	8.1%	1.3m	24134m	9.3m/s	0%
23:00	9.1%	1.5m	24135m	8.2m/s	0%
Tue, Apr 14
24:00	7.7%	1.5m	24135m	6.1m/s	0%
01:00	7.7%	1.4m	24134m	5.6m/s	0%
02:00	7.7%	1.4m	24135m	5.3m/s	0%
03:00	7.7%	1.2m	24134m	5.8m/s	0%
04:00	7.7%	1.2m	24134m	5.7m/s	0%
05:00	6.7%	1.1m	24135m	5.1m/s	0%
06:00	19%	1.1m	24135m	3.5m/s	0%
07:00	22%	1.1m	24134m	2.6m/s	0%
08:00	18%	1.1m	24134m	2.8m/s	0%
09:00	22%	1.1m	24134m	3.7m/s	0%
10:00	16%	1.1m	24134m	2.8m/s	0%
11:00	23%	1.5m	24135m	2.6m/s	0%
12:00	15%	1.5m	24135m	3.4m/s	0%
13:00	13%	1.4m	24134m	3.5m/s	0%
14:00	17%	1.4m	24134m	5.2m/s	0%
15:00	18%	1.4m	24134m	7.8m/s	0%
16:00	22%	1.3m	24135m	11m/s	0%
17:00	17%	1.2m	24135m	11m/s	0%
18:00	21%	1.2m	24134m	11m/s	0%
19:00	27%	1.1m	24134m	12m/s	0%
20:00	27%	1m	24134m	11m/s	0%
21:00	3.5%	0.96m	24134m	9.9m/s	0%
22:00	3.3%	0.9m	24134m	8.2m/s	0%
23:00	3.3%	0.85m	24134m	6.6m/s	0%
Wed, Apr 15
24:00	3.3%	0.8m	24135m	6.5m/s	0%
01:00	3.3%	0.74m	24135m	5.9m/s	0%
02:00	3.3%	0.69m	24135m	6m/s	0%
03:00	3.3%	0.62m	24135m	6.3m/s	0%
04:00	3.3%	0.55m	24134m	5.9m/s	0%
05:00	3.1%	0.48m	24134m	6m/s	0%
06:00	8.8%	0.45m	24134m	6.8m/s	0%
07:00	11%	0.42m	24134m	7.9m/s	0%
08:00	8.2%	0.39m	24135m	8.4m/s	0%
09:00	8.2%	0.38m	24134m	8.7m/s	0%
10:00	6.5%	0.37m	24134m	8.5m/s	0%
11:00	6%	0.36m	24134m	8.2m/s	0%
12:00	6.2%	0.35m	24135m	8.6m/s	0.3%
13:00	6.2%	0.35m	24134m	9.8m/s	0.61%
14:00	7.7%	0.34m	24135m	11m/s	0.91%
15:00	8.5%	0.34m	24135m	11m/s	0.61%
16:00	9.8%	0.34m	24135m	12m/s	0.3%
17:00	11%	0.34m	24135m	12m/s	0%
18:00	7.6%	0.34m	24134m	11m/s	0%
19:00	13%	0.33m	24134m	11m/s	0%
20:00	12%	0.33m	22482m	9.5m/s	0%
21:00	3.1%	0.34m	24135m	9.2m/s	0%
22:00	2.9%	0.36m	24135m	11m/s	0%
23:00	2.9%	0.37m	24135m	11m/s	0%
Thu, Apr 16
24:00	2.9%	0.36m	24135m	12m/s	0%
01:00	2.9%	0.34m	24134m	13m/s	0%
02:00	2.9%	0.33m	24134m	14m/s	0%
03:00	2.9%	0.3m	24134m	14m/s	0%
04:00	3.2%	0.27m	24134m	15m/s	0%
05:00	2.6%	0.24m	24135m	9.5m/s	0%
06:00	7.1%	0.25m	24134m	6.3m/s	0%
07:00	8%	0.25m	24134m	4.9m/s	0%
08:00	6.1%	0.26m	24134m	4.4m/s	0%
09:00	6.1%	0.28m	24134m	3.6m/s	0%
10:00	5.2%	0.31m	24135m	2.4m/s	0%
11:00	5.2%	0.33m	24134m	1.9m/s	0%
12:00	4.3%	0.36m	24135m	3.8m/s	0%
13:00	4.3%	0.39m	24134m	4.9m/s	0%
14:00	4.7%	0.42m	24135m	6m/s	0%
15:00	4.7%	0.46m	24135m	7.4m/s	0%
16:00	5.7%	0.5m	24134m	8.5m/s	0%
17:00	6.2%	0.54m	24135m	11m/s	0%
18:00	6.8%	0.57m	24135m	7.8m/s	0%
19:00	8.1%	0.61m	24135m	5m/s	0%
20:00	8.8%	0.64m	24135m	2.1m/s	0%
21:00	2.7%	0.66m	24135m	2m/s	0%
22:00	2.7%	0.69m	24135m	1.9m/s	0%
23:00	2.7%	0.71m	24135m	1.9m/s	0%
Fri, Apr 17
24:00	3.7%	0.67m	24135m	1.9m/s	0%
01:00	2.7%	0.64m	24135m	2m/s	0%
02:00	2.3%	0.6m	24135m	2.1m/s	0%
03:00	4.5%	0.56m	24135m	2.1m/s	0%
04:00	4.5%	0.53m	24135m	2m/s	0%
05:00	2.9%	0.49m	24135m	2m/s	0%
06:00	9.8%	0.46m	24135m	2.2m/s	0%
07:00	11%	0.44m	24135m	2.4m/s	0%
08:00	8.5%	0.41m	24135m	2.6m/s	0%
09:00	8.5%	0.4m	24135m	2.9m/s	0%
10:00	7.3%	0.38m	24135m	3.2m/s	0%

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
Tue, Apr 14 Sunrise 06:37 Sunset 19:47
12:00	65%	0%	82%	0.13m	71°	0.02	57°	82%	286°	5.2m/s	1.4m	5s
13:00	5%	0%	0%	0.13m	73°	0.02	61°	5%	288°	5.5m/s	1.4m	5s
14:00	67%	0%	3%	0.13m	74°	0.02	59°	67%	288°	6.4m/s	1.4m	5s
15:00	6%	0%	34%	0.12m	75°	0.02	53°	34%	293°	8.3m/s	1.4m	4.9s
16:00	7%	0%	31%	0.11m	76°	0.02	43°	31%	300°	9.7m/s	1.3m	4.8s
17:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.1m	77°	0.02	32°	5%	298°	9.3m/s	1.2m	4.7s
18:00 ☾	10%	0%	0%	0.1m	74°	0.02	20°	10%	299°	9.4m/s	1.1m	4.5s
19:00 ☾	14%	0%	0%	0.1m	71°	0.02	8.5°	14%	299°	9.5m/s	1.1m	4.3s
20:00 ☾	5%	0%	5%	0.1m	68°	0.02	-3°	5%	305°	8.4m/s	1m	4.2s
21:00 ☾	5%	0%	2%	0.1m	66°	0.02	-14°	5%	311°	7.6m/s	0.95m	4.1s
22:00 ☾	5%	0%	5%	0.1m	64°	0.02	-24°	5%	318°	6.5m/s	0.89m	4s
23:00 ☾	5%	0%	5%	0.1m	62°	0.02	-33°	5%	318°	5.5m/s	0.84m	3.9s
Wed, Apr 15 Sunrise 06:36 Sunset 19:48
24:00 ☾	5%	0%	5%	0.11m	60°	0.02	-39°	5%	322°	5.1m/s	0.78m	3.8s
01:00 ☾	100%	0%	44%	0.11m	57°	0.02	-42°	100%	323°	4.8m/s	0.73m	3.6s
02:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	0.12m	55°	0.02	-41°	100%	325°	4.6m/s	0.67m	3.5s
03:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	0.11m	51°	0.02	-36°	100%	323°	4.7m/s	0.6m	3.4s
04:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	0.11m	47°	0.02	-28°	100%	327°	4.2m/s	0.53m	3.2s
05:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	0.1m	44°	0.02	-18°	100%	323°	4.4m/s	0.46m	3s
06:00 ☾	100%	0%	100%	0.1m	49°	0.02	-7.6°	100%	319°	4.9m/s	0.43m	3.2s
07:00	100%	0%	100%	0.11m	54°	0.02	4°	100%	320°	5.6m/s	0.4m	3.3s
08:00	100%	0%	100%	0.11m	58°	0.03	16°	100%	320°	5.3m/s	0.37m	3.5s
09:00	100%	0%	100%	0.1m	58°	0.03	27°	100%	313°	5.7m/s	0.36m	3.4s
10:00	100%	0%	100%	0.1m	57°	0.03	39°	100%	306°	6.4m/s	0.35m	3.4s
11:00	100%	0%	100%	0.09m	56°	0.03	49°	100%	298°	7.3m/s	0.34m	3.3s
12:00	100%	5%	100%	0.09m	56°	0.03	57°	100%	294°	8.1m/s	0.33m	3.3s
13:00	98%	0%	97%	0.1m	56°	0.04	62°	98%	292°	8.9m/s	0.33m	3.3s
14:00	75%	1%	5%	0.1m	56°	0.04	60°	75%	292°	9.1m/s	0.32m	3.3s
15:00	47%	5%	5%	0.1m	52°	0.04	53°	47%	293°	8.8m/s	0.32m	3s
16:00	69%	5%	5%	0.1m	49°	0.04	43°	69%	292°	8.7m/s	0.32m	2.8s
17:00 ☾	53%	5%	1%	0.1m	46°	0.03	32°	53%	291°	8.4m/s	0.32m	2.5s
18:00 ☾	5%	11%	0%	0.1m	48°	-	20°	11%	291°	7.8m/s	0.32m	2.5s
19:00 ☾	54%	76%	0%	0.09m	50°	-	8.7°	77%	293°	6.4m/s	0.31m	2.5s
20:00 ☾	56%	99%	0%	0.09m	51°	-	-2.8°	99%	285°	5.5m/s	0.31m	2.6s
21:00 ☾	5%	85%	0%	0.09m	52°	-	-14°	85%	300°	6.9m/s	0.33m	2.6s
22:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.09m	53°	-	-24°	5%	299°	8.4m/s	0.34m	2.6s
23:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.09m	53°	-	-33°	0%	301°	8.2m/s	0.36m	2.7s
Thu, Apr 16 Sunrise 06:34 Sunset 19:49
24:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.09m	54°	-	-39°	0%	309°	8.8m/s	0.35m	2.7s
01:00 ☾	3%	0%	0%	0.09m	54°	-	-41°	3%	312°	9m/s	0.33m	2.7s
02:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.09m	54°	-	-40°	5%	319°	8.9m/s	0.32m	2.7s
03:00 ☾	2%	0%	0%	0.09m	58°	-	-35°	2%	326°	7.9m/s	0.29m	2.7s
04:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.08m	61°	-	-28°	0%	315°	9.1m/s	0.25m	2.8s
05:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.08m	65°	-	-18°	0%	349°	5.7m/s	0.22m	2.8s
06:00 ☾	4%	0%	0%	0.08m	57°	-	-7.3°	4%	348°	4.4m/s	0.23m	2.6s
07:00	2%	0%	0%	0.08m	49°	-	4.2°	2%	353°	3.9m/s	0.23m	2.4s
08:00	0%	0%	0%	0.08m	42°	-	16°	0%	350°	3m/s	0.24m	2.1s
09:00	0%	0%	0%	0.08m	41°	-	28°	0%	349°	2.7m/s	0.27m	2.2s
10:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	40°	-	39°	0%	355°	2m/s	0.29m	2.3s
11:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	39°	-	49°	0%	317°	1.7m/s	0.32m	2.4s
12:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	41°	-	58°	0%	301°	3.4m/s	0.35m	2.5s
13:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	42°	-	62°	0%	293°	5.9m/s	0.38m	2.6s
14:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	43°	-	60°	0%	294°	8.3m/s	0.41m	2.7s
15:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	44°	-	53°	0%	299°	8.5m/s	0.45m	2.8s
16:00	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	44°	-	43°	0%	300°	8.8m/s	0.49m	2.9s
17:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	45°	-	32°	0%	300°	9.5m/s	0.53m	3s
18:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.07m	45°	-	21°	0%	310°	7m/s	0.56m	3.1s
19:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.06m	44°	-	8.9°	0%	321°	4.6m/s	0.6m	3.2s
20:00 ☾	0%	0%	0%	0.06m	44°	-	-2.7°	0%	331°	2.2m/s	0.63m	3.3s
21:00 ☾	2%	0%	0%	0.07m	43°	-	-14°	2%	336°	2.1m/s	0.65m	3.4s
22:00 ☾	3%	0%	0%	0.08m	42°	-	-24°	3%	342°	2.1m/s	0.68m	3.4s
23:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.09m	41°	-	-32°	5%	348°	2m/s	0.7m	3.5s
Fri, Apr 17 Sunrise 06:33 Sunset 19:50
24:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.11m	39°	-	-38°	5%	234°	1.8m/s	0.66m	3.4s
01:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.13m	36°	-	-41°	5%	120°	1.6m/s	0.61m	3.3s
02:00 ☾	5%	0%	0%	0.15m	34°	-	-40°	5%	6°	1.4m/s	0.57m	3.3s
03:00 ☾	37%	0%	1%	0.15m	32°	-	-35°	37%	86°	1.3m/s	0.53m	3.2s
04:00 ☾	68%	0%	1%	0.16m	30°	-	-27°	68%	165°	1.2m/s	0.5m	3.1s
05:00 ☾	100%	0%	2%	0.16m	28°	-	-18°	100%	244°	1.1m/s	0.46m	3s
06:00 ☾	100%	0%	31%	0.17m	29°	-	-7°	100%	236°	1.9m/s	0.43m	2.9s
07:00	100%	0%	59%	0.17m	29°	-	4.5°	100%	227°	2.7m/s	0.4m	2.9s
08:00	100%	0%	88%	0.18m	30°	-	16°	100%	218°	3.5m/s	0.37m	2.8s
09:00	97%	0%	92%	0.18m	31°	-	28°	100%	220°	3.3m/s	0.35m	2.8s
10:00	94%	0%	96%	0.17m	31°	-	39°	100%	221°	3.1m/s	0.34m	2.7s
11:00	91%	0%	99%	0.17m	32°	-	50°	99%	223°	3m/s	0.32m	2.7s

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

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