Surf Forecasts:
Dumps surf forecast from 12 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 16 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, WSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 16 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, WSW swell with 4,217 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 8PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 16s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Dumps this week:
The surf forecast for Dumps over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.5m and 16s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Dumps in the next 16 days are 3.0m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.4m 8s period and expected on Sunday (Sep 13) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Sat 12th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Dumps over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Hey everyone, Rusty here. Let’s break down what the next couple weeks look like at The Dumps. It’s a sandy sandbar set-up that doesn’t break all that often, so you’ve gotta pick your moments.
The water is running 57°F right now, which is about 3°F cooler than normal for this time of year. A bit nippy for the first session.
First real swell hits Saturday, September 12th. We’ve got 7 ft of SW groundswell with a very long 15-second period, packing some solid energy. Wind is cross-off from the SSE at 12 mph, and conditions are clean, but tides make it a bit tricky. By the afternoon, it bumps to 8 ft from the SW with 16-second periods and even more power, with a clean offshore wind from the SE at 16 mph. That’s big stuff – experienced crew only.
Sunday the 13th is a true standout. Morning delivers 7 ft of SW swell at 14 seconds with a light offshore out of the ESE at just 9 mph. The report calls it excellent conditions for experienced surfers. That’s your early pick.
Then things get average. Monday and Tuesday get blown out with onshore winds and lumpy, short-period chop. Surf quality drops to zero. There’s a bit of a clean-up Wednesday and Thursday, but tides are still a factor.
Here’s the beauty – Sunday, September 20th. Morning shows 6 ft of SW swell, 13-second period, and the wind is a dead calm glass from the E at 3 mph. No wind at all. That’s the kind of morning you wait for. Report says very good surf conditions.
The final big moment lands on Sunday, September 27th. Swell jumps to 8-8 ft from the WSW with very long 15-16 second periods and energy readings off the chart. Clean conditions with cross-off winds, but that size and period is for experts only. Powerful stuff for those who can handle it.
Because The Dumps is inconsistent, there are stretches with nothing good – especially from Monday the 22nd through Thursday the 24th where the wind and chop ruin it. But keep your eyes on that glassy 20th, and that massive last weekend of September.
That’s the long and short of it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Mon morning. Warm (max 21°C on Sun afternoon, min 15°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun night, fresh winds from the NW by Mon afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Tue night. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue afternoon, min 12°C on Wed afternoon). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the NW on Tue afternoon, calm by Tue night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | NW 7 | NW 7 | NW 6 | SW 16 | WSW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1776 | 3233 | 2482 | 1550 | 1029 | 663 | 423 | 471 | 311 | 190 | 1591 | 4217 | 1429 | 1452 | 841 | 778 | 600 | 833 | 772 | 1831 | 2188 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 4:05PM1.88m | 4:23AM1.74m | 4:37PM1.83m | 4:54AM1.67m | 5:08PM1.74m | 5:25AM1.58m | 5:38PM1.62m | 5:57AM1.48m | 6:09PM1.50m | 6:32AM1.36m | 6:43PM1.36m | 7:19AM1.25m | 7:33PM1.24m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:53AM0.27m | 10:19PM0.26m | 10:23AM0.31m | 10:48PM0.33m | 10:52AM0.38m | 11:17PM0.41m | 11:21AM0.48m | 11:46PM0.52m | 11:50AM0.60m | 00:18AM0.63m | 12:24PM0.73m | 00:57AM0.74m | 1:11PM0.85m | 2:06AM0.84m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  |  |  | |  | | |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | |
 | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — |
 | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:36 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:38 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 12 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 18 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 |
Feels °C | 16 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 16 | WSW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 1776 | 3233 | 2482 | 1550 | 1029 | 663 | 423 | 309 | 245 | 174 | 1591 | 4217 | 1429 | 1452 | 841 | 778 | 600 | 833 | 772 | 1831 | 2188 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | SE 9 | SSE 13 | SSW 17 | SW 15 | WSW 7 | SW 15 | SW 9 | WSW 13 | W 13 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 | SW 15 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | 202 | 172 | 128 | 59 | 12 | 16 | 29 | 139 | 104 | 648 | 515 | 476 | 395 | 144 | 104 | 21 | 614 | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 13 | SE 13 | SW 18 | SE 13 | — | WSW 13 | — | — | — | — | — | W 11 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 7 | 166 | 7 | — | 411 | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | N 3 | NNW 6 | NW 7 | NW 7 | NW 6 | NW 6 | — | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 |
| kJ | 405 | 518 | 674 | 470 | 530 | 7 | 154 | 471 | 311 | 190 | 200 | — | 98 | 256 | 277 | 158 | 187 | 127 | 136 | 121 | 61 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 139 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 86 | 395 | 78 | 226 | 226 | 0 | 19 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 317 | 415 | 10 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Dumps surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Dumps Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Dumps provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Dumps can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Dumps surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Dumps) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Dumps may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Cape Town? If you are looking for accommodation near Dumps, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Cape Town, consider staying in Cape Town which is 6 km (4 miles) away. Other places in and around Cape Town where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Bellville which is 14 km (9 miles) away, Robben Island, Kayamnandi and Stellenbosch.
Nearest