Advisory: elevated tar reported at this beach. Source unconfirmed — see The Tar Story for the seeps-vs-infrastructure question.
Hammonds Beach
TAR/OIL 2.6/10 0 reports today · last 3 days ago Tar/Oil scores 0–10 · 10 clean
2.6 Sand
8.0 Water
Surf
SURF 3-5 ft · chest-to-head
Offshore swell 6.2 ft @ 11s W
· obs 1h ago
CDIP MOP nearshore model (Scripps, DOI 10.18437/C7WC72) + local windsea
Wind
sideshore · E
Tide ft MLLW
now 2.0 ft rising · next H 5.1 · 4:27 PM
Temps
64.6°F Water
61.1°F Air
Tar/Oil Conditions
TAR/OIL SCORE (0-10 · 10 = clean) · 7 DAYSHow scoring works →now 2.6
Surf
Offshore Buoy — West Santa Barbara46054 · obs + forecast · NDBC / wave model
no data
Swell direction · every 6h
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Sat 2 AMLoading swell x tar…
more in Research →Weather
Weather
61.1°Fsunny3.3 ktUV 0Sunrise 6:34 AM · Sunset 7:18 PM
Today, hour by hour
☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Wind direction
Sat 12 AM
Sat 4 AM
Sat 8 AM
Sat 12 PM
Sat 4 PM
Sat 8 PM
TodayUV 7 HighSunrise 6:34 AMSunset 7:18 PMMoonrise 12:16 AMMoonset 3:43 PM🌘 Waning Crescent
Live Observations
Jul 18, 1:23 PM SB Channelkeeper Volunteers ★ Waterline Sheen Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Liquid None – A
Jul 18, 1:14 PM anon Dry sand Sheen Sporadic 1-10% Greasy coat – Liquid None – A
Jul 18, 8:52 AM copr_val Waterline Sheen Patchy 11-50% Greasy coat – Liquid – – B
Jul 18, 8:42 AM anon Dry sand Black line Patchy 11-50% Balls Palm Liquid None – B
Jul 17, 2:28 PM anon Waterline Black line Broken-continuous >50% Film – – – – A
Jul 17, 10:05 AM anon Wrack line Clean Patchy 11-50% Greasy coat – Liquid Tar balls – B
Jul 17, 8:29 AM anon Dry sand Black line Broken-continuous >50% Balls Plate Liquid – – C
Jul 16, 11:52 AM anon Rocks Clean Sporadic 1-10% Greasy coat – Liquid Odor – C
Jul 16, 7:06 AM UCSB COPR Lab ★ Wrack line Clean Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Liquid Tar balls – A
Jul 16, 6:25 AM carp_surfer Waterline Black line Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Liquid None – C
Jul 15, 6:14 PM goleta_greg Waterline Black line Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Liquid None – A
Jul 15, 12:47 PM UCSB COPR Lab ★ Dry sand Black line Patchy 11-50% Greasy coat – Liquid None – A
Jul 15, 7:01 AM anon Waterline Sheen Patchy 11-50% Greasy coat – Liquid – – B
Jul 14, 9:47 AM anon Waterline Black line Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Sticky Sheen – B
Jul 14, 6:12 AM SB Channelkeeper Volunteers ★ Waterline Black line Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Liquid None – A
Jul 13, 9:10 AM anon Waterline Sheen Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Liquid Sheen – C
Jul 12, 12:03 PM carp_surfer Waterline Clean Sporadic 1-10% Greasy coat – Liquid – – A
Jul 12, 6:53 AM anon Wrack line Clean Broken-continuous >50% Film – – Sheen – B
Jul 11, 7:02 AM channelkeeper_chris Waterline Black line Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – – None – B
Jul 10, 11:48 AM anon Waterline Sheen Broken-continuous >50% Greasy coat – Firm None – B
16-Day Forecast
SAT SEP 5
Sat, 9/5 Morning 4.4ft · chest-to-head 2.7ft @ 11.1s – sideshore Partly cloudy · 69.6°F 96%
Sat, 9/5 Evening 4.6ft · chest-to-head 2.6ft @ 11.2s – sideshore Clear · 74.7°F 96%
SUN SEP 6
Sun, 9/6 Morning 4.8ft · chest-to-head 2.9ft @ 10.8s – sideshore Overcast · 74.2°F 93%
Sun, 9/6 Evening 4.4ft · chest-to-head 2.8ft @ 10.6s – sideshore Overcast · 77.3°F 93%
MON SEP 7
Mon, 9/7 Morning 3.2ft · chest-to-head 3ft @ 9.6s – sideshore Clear · 76.7°F 91%
Mon, 9/7 Evening 2.9ft · waist-high 2.8ft @ 9.7s – sideshore Clear · 81.4°F 91%
TUE SEP 8
Tue, 9/8 Morning 2.5ft · waist-high 2.4ft @ 9.5s – sideshore Overcast · 80°F 88%
Tue, 9/8 Evening 2.3ft · waist-high 2.3ft @ 9.1s – sideshore Mostly cloudy · 85.6°F 88%
WED SEP 9
Wed, 9/9 Morning 2ft · waist-high 2.1ft @ 8.6s – sideshore Overcast · 81.4°F 86%
Wed, 9/9 Evening 1.9ft · shin-to-knee 1.9ft @ 8.9s – onshore Partly cloudy · 87.9°F 86%
THU SEP 10
Thu, 9/10 Morning 2.4ft · waist-high 2ft @ 8.8s – sideshore Clear · 78.7°F 83%
Thu, 9/10 Evening 2.9ft · waist-high 2.8ft @ 6.7s – sideshore Clear · 85.2°F 83%
FRI SEP 11
Fri, 9/11 Morning 3.3ft · chest-to-head 2.6ft @ 6.9s – sideshore Partly cloudy · 77.9°F 81%
Fri, 9/11 Evening 3ft · chest-to-head 3ft @ 6.1s – sideshore Overcast · 87.7°F 81%
SAT SEP 12
Sat, 9/12 Morning 0.9ft · ankle-high 2.3ft @ 7.2s – sideshore Partly cloudy · 75.5°F 78%
Sat, 9/12 Evening 1.2ft · shin-to-knee 2.6ft @ 6.7s – sideshore Clear · 87.5°F 78%
SUN SEP 13
Sun, 9/13 Morning 1.4ft · shin-to-knee 2.8ft @ 5.9s – sideshore Clear · 75.1°F 76%
Sun, 9/13 Evening 1.8ft · shin-to-knee 3.4ft @ 5.4s – sideshore Clear · 83°F 76%
MON SEP 14
Mon, 9/14 Morning – · – – – Clear · 73.9°F 73%
Mon, 9/14 Evening – · – – – Partly cloudy · 81.4°F 73%
TUE SEP 15
Tue, 9/15 Morning – · – – – Mostly cloudy · 73.6°F 71%
Tue, 9/15 Evening – · – – – Mostly cloudy · 78.5°F 71%
WED SEP 16
Wed, 9/16 Morning – · – – – Clear · 70.4°F 68%
Wed, 9/16 Evening – · – – – Clear · 75.7°F 68%
THU SEP 17
Thu, 9/17 Morning – · – – – Clear · 68.7°F 66%
Thu, 9/17 Evening – · – – – Clear · 74°F 66%
FRI SEP 18
Fri, 9/18 Morning – · – – – Clear · 69°F 63%
Fri, 9/18 Evening – · – – – Clear · 74°F 63%
SAT SEP 19
Sat, 9/19 Morning – · – – – – 61%
Sat, 9/19 Evening – · – – – – 61%
SUN SEP 20
Sun, 9/20 Morning – · – – – – 58%
Sun, 9/20 Evening – · – – – – 58%
Confidence is an estimate based on forecast lead time.
Nearby Buoys
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Nearby Incident Reports
Aug 13, 2026 IncidentNews Pollution Surveillance Report off Santa Barbara; Montecito, California 9.4 km
Source ↗
Aug 12, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: REPORT DATE: 08-13-2026
REPORT TIME: 1320 UTC
REGION: PACIFIC
SUB REGION: CALIFORNIA
AREA/BLOCK: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 6658
IMAGE DATE: 08-12-… 9.4 km —
Aug 11, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: THE CALLER DISCOVERED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 16.8 km —
Jul 12, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER REPORTED A SHEEN OFFSHORE OF SUMMERLAND BEACH, POSSIBLY FROM A NATURAL SEEP. 3.7 km —
Jun 23, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER IS REPORTING A MYSTERY SHEEN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN
11.6 km —
Jun 7, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER REPORTING AN UNKNOWN SHEEN NEARBY A PLATFORM. THE SHEEN IS RAINBOW AND ESTIMATED TO BE .25 MILES LONG. 24.7 km —
May 30, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER REPORTING AN UNKNOWN SHEEN AND TAR BALLS ON THE BUTTERFLY BEACH. THE PRECISE SOURCE AND CAUSE ARE UNKNOWN.
THE SHEEN IS COVERING AN… 0.5 km —
May 28, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: THE CALLER REPORTED THE DISCOVERY OF AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE ON THE WATERS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 5.5 km —
May 13, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: THE CALLER STATES A RELIEF VALVE RELEASED PRODUCED WATER AND CRUDE OIL, WHICH RAN DOWN THE CONDUCTOR IMPACTING HTE PACIFIC OCEAN. 9.2 km —
Apr 29, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER STATES THAT THICK TAR PATTIES "THE SIZE OF COW PIES" ARE WASHING UP ONT THE SHORE OF FARIA BEACH.
COVERING APPROX .25 MILES TO. 5 MI… 25 km —
Apr 26, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: THE CALLER STATED THAT THEY DISCOVERED A VESSEL THAT BROKE IT'S MOORING. BECAUSE OF THIS THE VESSEL RAN AGROUND ON A BEACH AT THE LOCATION. … 2.7 km —
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Feb 11, 2026 NRC raw raw report — unverified: ///POTENTIAL RELEASE///
VESSEL WENT HARD AGROUND AND IS BREAKING APART ON SHORE. THERE IS NO SIGN OF A RELEASE BUT THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR… 1.6 km —
Dec 29, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: THE CALLER STATED THAT A SEPARATING TANK ON A PLATFORM RELEASED (5) TABLESPOONS OF CRUDE OIL INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THE CAUSE OF THE RELEAS… 9.9 km —
Nov 30, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CRUDE OIL DISCHARGED FROM A LOADING DOCK ROLL-OFF BIN ONBOARD A PLATFORM DUE TO OPERATOR ERROR (HIT A RAILING WHILE LOADING). 9.6 km —
Nov 11, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER REPORTED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE. 19.4 km —
Oct 10, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER STATES UNKNOWN OIL WAS DISCOVERED DISCHARGING FROM A 6 INCH PIPE RISING OUT OF THE SAND DUE TO AN UNKNOWN CAUSE AT THIS TIME. CALLER… 4.1 km —
Aug 24, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: ****THIS IS A POTENTIAL RELEASE REPORT****
THE CALLER DISCOVERED A SAILBOAT AGROUND ON BUTTERFLY BEACH. NO POLLUTION OBSERVED AT THIS TIME… 1.4 km —
Aug 17, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: THE CALLER DISCOVERED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL. 21.9 km —
Jul 26, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER REPORTED AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE. 19.5 km —
Jun 8, 2025 NRC raw raw report — unverified: CALLER STATES DISCOVERING AN UNKNOWN SHEEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THE CALLER STATES THE SHEEN WAS 1 TO 2NM LONG X 1NM … 19 km —