Every night this week

Sunset Score.

How good tonight's sunset looks, and the next six, scored 1 to 10 from the cloud forecast, with a place to watch it. Plus the water temperature and the best tide-pool windows.

73°FWater at the channel buoy. Trunks and a rash guard.

King tides coming Nov 24 to 26: the highest tides of the year, up to +7.1 ft.

Add sunsets, tide pools and farmers markets to your calendarCounty beach water tests

  1. Sunset Score 1/10

    Tonight Sat Oct 31

    Sunset 6:06 PM, likely a gray one: a thick cloud deck overhead; marine layer over town, so watch from higher up.

    Solid forecast
  2. Sunset Score 5/10

    Tomorrow Sun Nov 1

    Sunset 5:05 PM, pleasant, nothing wild: clear sky, so a clean, simple sunset.

    Watch from Shoreline Park, the Mesa: bluff-top lawn and benches over the water.

    Solid forecast
  3. Sunset Score 7/10

    Monday Nov 2

    Sunset 5:04 PM, good odds of color: a full sheet of high cloud, which can glow or go flat; a clear horizon to the west.

    Watch from Arroyo Burro Beach, Hendry's: sand, tide pools and the Boathouse right there.

    Firming up
  4. Sunset Score 5/10

    Tuesday Nov 3

    Sunset 5:03 PM, pleasant, nothing wild: clear sky, so a clean, simple sunset.

    Watch from Goleta Beach, Goleta: the pier runs out over the water.

    Firming up
  5. Sunset Score 7/10

    Wednesday Nov 4

    Sunset 5:02 PM, good odds of color: a full sheet of high cloud, which can glow or go flat; a clear horizon to the west.

    Watch from Ellwood Bluffs, Goleta: open bluff trails west of town.

    Early guess
  6. Sunset Score 6/10

    Thursday Nov 5

    Sunset 5:01 PM, good odds of color: a few clouds to catch some color.

    Tide pools 12:14 PM to 2:14 PM (low +0.7 ft)

    Watch from Butterfly Beach, Montecito: a west-facing beach, which is rare on this coast.

    Early guess
  7. Sunset Score 5/10

    Friday Nov 6

    Sunset 5:00 PM, pleasant, nothing wild: clear sky, so a clean, simple sunset.

    Tide pools 12:57 PM to 2:57 PM (low +0.2 ft)

    Watch from Shoreline Park, the Mesa: bluff-top lawn and benches over the water.

    Early guess

Launch Watch: this week's Vandenberg rockets, which way they fly and which ones go up at dusk.

Updated Saturday 6:12 AM. High clouds catch the color; low cloud out over the water blocks it. A day or two out the forecast holds up; past three days it's an early guess. Either way, look west before you go. The color usually peaks 10 to 20 minutes after the sun drops.

Free, every Thursday

The weekend's sunsets, first.

The Thursday email has the weekend's scores, the picks and the best place to watch.