The key to understanding your local surf conditions is to figure out which buoy you should be looking at. If you are trying to determine if you should surf right now, find the buoy that is the closest to your spot in the direction from which the swell originates. In California in the winter, this means finding a buoy that is to the north and west of your beach. In the summer, find one to the south.
All of the buoy data you see on surf forecasting websites comes from the same place. Government agencies maintain a buoy network to collect data and make it freely available to you.
Try and pick out which buoy you think will work for your local beach from the National Buoy Data Center website.
Below is a list of regional surf reports for Southern California. The Surf Now? section shows the current reading for the buoy that best reflects the current swell hitting the region. This is the most important thing you should look at. Look at it before and after every session. After some time, you will start to notice patterns in the size and quality of the surf that corresponds to certain swell period, height, and direction readings. Better yet, track your sessions.
Don't like our predefined regions? No problem, create your own.