Surf Forecasts:
Long Beach surf forecast from 26 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 26 Aug, 2PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 13s period, WSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 1 Sep, 5PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 14s period, SW swell with 8,163 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 26 Aug, 2PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 13s period with WSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Long Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Long Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 2PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 11s. Another secondary swell of 1.8m and 8s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Long Beach in the next 16 days are 4.5m 14s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.5m 8s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 8PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 2PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Tue 1st Sep) | 15ft (4.5m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Long Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for our little patch. We've got a run of surf that starts quiet, builds to a serious late-summer pulse, then gets a bit wild. It's a mixed bag, so listen up.
We start off on Wednesday the 26th of August with a bit of a tease. There's a 4ft to 4ft WSW swell rolling in, with a decent 13-second period, giving us a solid 1622 combined energy. The water's sitting at 59°, which is a touch cooler than average for this time of year, but nothing drastic. The issue early on is that cross-offshore wind keeps it a little bumpy, not quite glassy. It's surfable for the intermediate crew, but not the day's highlight.
Thursday the 27th is a write-off, to be honest. The wind swings around, the swell gets a bit bigger at 5ft to 5ft but from the S, and it's all cross-on and choppy. The energy drops to 910. Don't bother paddling out.
Now, Friday the 28th is where it gets interesting. The swell drops back to 4ft from the S, but the key is the wind. Early morning we get a glassy spell with that 4ft S swell (642 energy). That's a quiet, clean window. But the real standout is Friday afternoon. The wind turns offshore, the swell jumps to 4ft from the WSW with a 14-second period, and the energy climbs to 945. That's a clean, lined-up afternoon session for the intermediates.
Saturday the 29th sees the swell building. The morning is a bit messy with cross-shore wind messing up the 5ft WSW swell. But the afternoon is the big call: a 7ft WSW swell with a 14-second period, and clean offshore wind. The combined energy is a strong 1864. This is the best on offer for the first week. It's a solid, powerful wave for experienced surfers, and the conditions will be pristine.
Sunday the 30th is a bit of a let-down after that. The swell is still a solid 8ft WSW in the morning, but a strong cross-offshore wind makes it choppy and hard to read. The afternoon drops to 7ft but the wind is still strong and cross-off. It's a pass.
Monday the 31st is a nice, clean return to form. A 6ft WSW swell with a 12-second period and offshore wind both morning and afternoon. Energy is 826. It's a good, solid day for the intermediate to advanced crew.
Now, here's where it gets serious. Tuesday the 1st of September brings a massive jump. The swell hits 12ft in the morning and 15ft in the afternoon from the SW, with that long 14-second period. The combined energy is huge: 4340 in the morning, peaking at 8163 in the afternoon. The wind is cross-off, but this is big, powerful surf. It's for experts only. This is a serious, consequential swell, and the break quality will be intense. Wednesday the 2nd keeps that energy going with 12ft to 10ft SW/WSW swell and clean conditions. The energy is still very high (3970/3043). This is a proper, multi-day groundswell event.
The end of the first week and start of the second gets messy. Thursday the 3rd gets torn apart by a near-gale, and Friday the 4th is a complete write-off with onshore gales. Then things get out of hand. On the 5th of September, we see a 23ft S swell, but it's completely blown out by strong onshore winds. The energy is massive (15461), but it's a washing machine. Saturday afternoon the same. The setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Sunday the 6th is still huge (13ft) and onshore, no good.
The last few days calm down. Monday the 7th of September has a 8ft SSE swell in the morning, but the wind is onshore. The afternoon is better, with a 6ft SE swell and cross-offshore wind, giving us 968 energy. It's a clean, smaller wave to finish on. After that, the 8th, 9th, and 10th of September are all small, choppy, and generally poor, with wind and weak swell.
So, the standout of the whole run is without a doubt Saturday the 29th of August afternoon: a clean, offshore 7ft WSW swell with a 14-second period. That's a perfect session. The second standout is the big pulse on Tuesday the 1st of September, but that's only for the brave and experienced. For the rest of us, the Friday the 28th afternoon and Monday the 31st are the best bets.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Wed night, min 13°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat morning, min 12°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSE on Sun morning, light winds from the NW by Mon night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | |||||||||||||||
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) | WSW 13 | SSW 16 | SSW 11 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
587 | 433 | 454 | 607 | 632 | 465 | 323 | 668 | 491 | 943 | 1474 | 1172 | 1828 | 1182 | 1027 | 807 | 634 | 265 | 4308 | 8163 | 4861 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | off | glassy | off | off | cross | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 2:37PM1.42m | 2:44AM1.41m | 3:05PM1.51m | 3:14AM1.47m | 3:33PM1.59m | 3:44AM1.50m | 4:01PM1.63m | 4:15AM1.50m | 4:31PM1.63m | 4:48AM1.47m | 5:03PM1.59m | 5:22AM1.41m | 5:38PM1.52m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:27AM0.21m | 8:46PM0.25m | 8:54AM0.14m | 9:15PM0.17m | 9:22AM0.09m | 9:44PM0.11m | 9:49AM0.06m | 10:14PM0.07m | 10:18AM0.07m | 10:45PM0.08m | 10:48AM0.11m | 11:18PM0.11m | 11:21AM0.18m | 11:55PM0.19m | |||||||
7:13 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:11 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | |
— | 6:23 | — | — | 6:23 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:25 | — | — | 6:27 | — | — | 6:28 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Feels °C | 11 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
587 | 433 | 454 | 607 | 632 | 465 | 323 | 668 | 491 | 943 | 1474 | 1172 | 1828 | 1182 | 1027 | 807 | 634 | 265 | 4308 | 8163 | 4861 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 11 | SW 10 | SW 7 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SW 10 | — | — | — |
221 | 263 | 322 | 237 | 221 | 161 | 121 | 214 | 130 | 119 | 177 | 194 | 22 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 234 | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SE 8 | SE 9 | WSW 16 | WSW 15 | WSW 16 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | S 11 | SSE 11 | E 12 | E 13 | E 12 | S 10 | S 10 | SW 13 | — | — | — |
337 | 411 | 145 | 64 | 26 | 146 | 198 | 63 | 131 | 68 | 116 | 47 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 162 | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 8 | — | NW 3 | WNW 3 | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 11 | — | — | SSE 4 | SE 5 | SE 6 | — | W 3 | NNW 4 | — | — |
477 | 393 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 97 | — | — | 35 | 45 | 13 | — | 5 | 32 | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 349 | 52 | 79 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 349 | 162 | 9 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Long Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Long Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Long Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Long Beach 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 (Long Beach) 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Cape Town, consider staying in Cape Town which is 26 km (16 miles) away. Other places in and around Cape Town where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Robben Island which is 37 km (23 miles) away, Bellville, Stellenbosch and Kayamnandi.











