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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 am Monday 18 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
15.9° C
(Which is 1.1°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 6AM is: 1.6m 13s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.6m 10s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 01:00am May 18). An open ocean swell of 1.1m 6s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be offshore and the swell rating is 3.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (18 May) | 5ft (1.6m) | 14s |
| Afternoon (18 May) | 5ft (1.6m) | 14s |
| Evening (18 May) | 5ft (1.5m) | 13s |
Table - waves today at Big Bay. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 22°C on Tue afternoon, min 15°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wednesday 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | |
837 | 850 | 889 | 969 | 1042 | 929 | 796 | 722 | 800 | 928 | 1020 | 565 | 414 | 414 | 408 | 330 | 260 | 235 | 188 | 180 | 125 | 121 | 84 | 79 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | on | |
High Tide | 3:55AM1.62m | 4:28PM1.52m | 4:43AM1.54m | 5:17PM1.46m | 5:35AM1.43m | 6:11PM1.39m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:15AM-0.00m | 10:34PM0.14m | 11:02AM0.07m | 11:26PM0.21m | 11:52AM0.18m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | |  | |
 | — | 7:31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | |
Temp °C | 16 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 8 | S 7 |
 kJ | 837 | 850 | 889 | 969 | 1042 | 929 | 363 | 428 | 550 | 580 | 614 | 565 | 388 | 313 | 279 | 284 | 240 | 235 | 188 | 130 | 125 | 99 | 84 | 53 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 6 | S 10 | S 8 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 |
| kJ | 71 | 71 | 49 | 78 | 33 | 275 | 796 | 722 | 640 | 615 | 536 | 528 | 414 | 414 | 408 | 330 | 260 | 230 | 184 | 180 | 125 | 121 | 82 | 79 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 13 | — | S 10 | S 10 | — | — | S 12 | — | — | S 16 | S 16 | S 15 | S 15 | SSE 14 | — | — | SW 19 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 |
| kJ | — | 58 | — | 50 | 18 | — | — | 11 | — | — | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 20 | — | — | 14 | 11 | 10 | 38 | 35 | 55 | 74 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | SSE 6 | S 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 92 | 92 | 82 | 123 | 97 | 392 | 540 | 600 | 800 | 928 | 1020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 2 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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