The Heads 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 34.07° S 23.06° E

Issued: 1 am 19 Oct 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's The Heads sea temperature is

17.0°C

The Heads surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at The Heads today (19 Oct):

Morning surf: Morning surf (19 Oct, local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 12s period with SW swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (19 Oct, local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 12s period with SW swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (19 Oct, local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 12s period with SW swell.

The current surf forecast for The Heads at 8AM is: 2.4m 12s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 1.3m 7s secondary swell from a East-southeast direction, 1.0m 5s secondary swell from a West-southwest direction (forecast issued at 01:00am October 19). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (19 Oct)	7.5ft (2.3m)	12s
Afternoon (19 Oct)	6ft (1.8m)	12s
Evening (19 Oct)	7ft (2.1m)	12s

Table - waves today at The Heads. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Light rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Mon morning. Warm (max 20°C on Wed morning, min 11°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light.
	Monday 19								Tuesday 20								Wednesday 21
	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
Rating (10 max)	2	1	2	2	0	1	3	3	3	3	2	1	0	0	1	3	3	4	3	!	!	!	4	4
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12
Wave Graph
kJ	1863	1693	1665	1112	944	855	1130	963	836	701	629	568	568	568	663	738	1045	1818	2580	4524	3804	3038	2499	2329
Wind (km/h)	W	WSW	WSW	WSW	SW	SW	WNW	NNW	NNW	N	ENE	SE	SSE	ESE	SW	N	N	WNW	W	SW	SW	WSW	W	W
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross	cross-on	cross	cross	cross-on	cross-on	cross-off	off	off	off	glassy	cross-on	on	cross-on	cross-on	off	off	cross-off	cross	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross	cross
High Tide				10:35AM1.07m					11:09PM1.06m				12:04PM1.21m				00:20AM1.19m				12:46PM1.37m
Low Tide		3:12AM0.75m				4:57PM0.81m					5:24AM0.69m				6:21PM0.67m				6:23AM0.56m				7:01PM0.51m


	—	5:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:39	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:39	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	6:44	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:45	—	—
mm	2	2	1	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	13	13	14	15	16	16	14	13	12	11	15	19	18	17	16	14	14	16	20	20	19	18	16	16
Feels °C	10	10	9	10	12	13	13	11	10	9	14	17	15	15	14	13	12	14	18	16	17	16	16	14
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 11	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12
kJ	1863	1693	1665	1112	944	855	1130	963	836	701	629	568	568	568	663	738	1045	1818	2580	3473	2956	2496	2010	1805
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 8	ESE 10	ESE 9	ESE 9	ESE 9	ESE 9	SE 9
kJ	69	72	155	179	146	67	43	29	17	16	16	22	22	20	20	20	19	20	74	66	47	46	32	21
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	SSE 6	—	—	—	—	E 7	—	—	—	E 10	ESE 8	—	—	—	SE 11	ESE 11	SE 10	—	—	—	—	E 8	E 9
kJ	—	51	—	—	—	—	28	—	—	—	2	11	—	—	—	5	12	27	—	—	—	—	5	6
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	WSW 5	SW 6	SW 6	SW 6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12
kJ	—	—	54	122	141	150	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4524	3804	3038	2499	2329
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	The Wreck Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	The Wreck Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Wildside Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Ding Dangs Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	The Wreck Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	3	7	4	5	5
Distance (km)	7	30	7	7	30	7	0	0	0	0	0	26	26	8	7	0	0	0	8	88	8	30	8	8
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route	Brak River	Brak River	Brak River	Buffalo Bay	The Wreck	Buffalo Bay	Gerickes Point	Goukamma River Mouth	Goukamma River Mouth	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Keurbooms	Gerickes Point	Goukamma River Mouth	Goukamma River Mouth	Santos Reef	Santos Reef	Buffalo Bay	Santos Reef	Lookout Beach	Victoria Bay
Rating (10 max)	4	5	4	4	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5	7	4	5	5
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Brak River Garden Route	Vredenberg Point West Coast	Heaven West Coast	Onrus Overberg	Meerensee Beach Overberg	Cintsa East Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Whacky Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Double Mouth Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Queensberry Bay Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Van Stadens Mouth Eastern Cape (S)	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Vleesbaai Overberg	Santos Reef Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Hout Bay Cape Town	Riet River Eastern Cape (S)	Riet River Eastern Cape (S)
Rating (10 max)	4	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5	7	4	8	6
Header Global	Bali Village Indonesia	Brak River South Africa	Ahijedero Mexico	Ahijedero Mexico	Brims Ness United Kingdom	The Bowl United Kingdom	Thurso East United Kingdom	Alnes Lighthouse Norway	Alnes Lighthouse Norway	Alnes Lighthouse Norway	Alnes Lighthouse Norway	Catlins River Mouth New Zealand	Lucky Point Philippines	Baler - Lindy's Point Philippines	Cyclops Australia	Lucky Point Philippines	Barrio Philippines	Malaking Gasang (Baler) Philippines	Lucky Point Philippines	Lucky Point Philippines	Lucky Point Philippines	Trial Harbour Australia	Easter Reef Australia	Trial Harbour Australia
Rating (10 max)	5	5	4	4	5	6	7	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	6	8	5	6	9	9	8	8	9	9

Map Icons:
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Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

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The Heads 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at The Heads today (19 Oct):

Short Range Forecast

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