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Big Bay Surf Forecast
/ Cape Town (70 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 1 pm Wednesday 20 May 2026 SASTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Big Bay surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Big Bay sea temperature is
15.7° C
(Which is 1.3°C colder than average for this time of year)How big are the waves at Big Bay today?
The current surf forecast for Big Bay at 10PM is: 0.6m 11s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.7m 7s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 01:00pm May 20). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (20 May) | 3.5ft (1.1m) | 9s |
| Afternoon (20 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 12s |
| Evening (20 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 11s |
Table - waves today at Big Bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Wed afternoon, min 15°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wed 20 | Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Sat 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||
11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | |
180 | 125 | 121 | 82 | 79 | 71 | 114 | 111 | 138 | 120 | 116 | 134 | 183 | 258 | 255 | 304 | 322 | 432 | 427 | 406 | 695 | 676 | 648 | 577 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-on | on | on | on | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | |
High Tide | 6:11PM1.39m | 6:32AM1.30m | 7:13PM1.32m | 7:39AM1.18m | 8:23PM1.27m | |||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:52AM0.18m | 00:25AM0.31m | 12:48PM0.29m | 1:34AM0.40m | 1:52PM0.39m | 2:55AM0.45m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | |  | |  | | | |  | | | |  | | |  | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — |
 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | — | — | 5:49 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 |
18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 8 | S 8 | S 8 | S 8 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SSW 6 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
 kJ | 134 | 124 | 78 | 58 | 47 | 35 | 38 | 36 | 138 | 120 | 116 | 114 | 110 | 101 | 121 | 41 | 322 | 432 | 90 | 85 | 695 | 676 | 648 | 577 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 14 | SW 13 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 6 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 6 | SW 11 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | S 6 |
| kJ | 180 | 125 | 121 | 82 | 79 | 68 | 114 | 111 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 24 | 22 | 258 | 255 | 304 | 46 | 115 | 427 | 406 | 64 | 48 | 35 | 24 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 16 | SW 16 | SSE 11 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 21 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 19 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 11 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 10 | 38 | 39 | 55 | 74 | 71 | 46 | 45 | 12 | 43 | 98 | 134 | 183 | 23 | 29 | 119 | 115 | 115 | 99 | 117 | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NW 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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