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The Heads Surf Forecast
/ Garden Route (22 surf breaks) /
Surf Forecasts:
The Heads surfForecast / Garden Route / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 7 pm Sunday 17 May 2026 SASTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
The Heads surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's The Heads sea temperature is
17.4° C
(Which is 1.4°C colder than average for this time of year)How big are the waves at The Heads today?
The current surf forecast for The Heads at 11PM is: 0.7m 14s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.9m 11s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 07:00pm May 17). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (17 May) | - | - |
| Afternoon (17 May) | 3.5ft (1.1m) | 12s |
| Evening (17 May) | 3ft (0.9m) | 11s |
Table - waves today at The Heads. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Warm (max 23°C on Wed afternoon, min 16°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 17 | Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wed 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 11 AM | 2 PM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SW 12 | S 11 | S 11 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | |
341 | 185 | 206 | 471 | 451 | 444 | 503 | 458 | 836 | 813 | 790 | 755 | 504 | 380 | 386 | 708 | 993 | 1014 | 921 | 393 | 734 | 547 | 411 | 443 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | |
High Tide | 4:04PM1.74m | 4:19AM1.87m | 4:48PM1.71m | 5:04AM1.77m | 5:35PM1.65m | 5:52AM1.63m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:06PM0.09m | 10:38AM0.02m | 10:53PM0.15m | 11:22AM0.11m | 11:42PM0.25m | 12:10PM0.22m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | |  |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | |  | | |  |  | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | 7:13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | — |
 | 5:32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:30 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
Temp °C | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 23 |
17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 22 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | S 11 | S 11 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | S 8 | SSE 8 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSE 8 | SW 13 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
 kJ | 341 | 185 | 189 | 471 | 451 | 444 | 503 | 458 | 836 | 813 | 790 | 755 | 504 | 291 | 298 | 380 | 330 | 282 | 202 | 339 | 231 | 252 | 411 | 443 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | ESE 6 | SW 14 | S 12 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 8 | SSE 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSE 14 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | SSE 13 | SW 13 | SSE 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | E 8 |
| kJ | 233 | 43 | 206 | 309 | 263 | 171 | 132 | 199 | 139 | 101 | 70 | 60 | 24 | 380 | 386 | 74 | 102 | 116 | 111 | 199 | 136 | 187 | 120 | 309 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 6 | SW 10 | WSW 9 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ESE 6 | SSW 16 | S 18 | S 17 | SE 16 | SSE 11 | SSE 16 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | — | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SSE 13 | SSW 9 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 47 | 98 | 76 | 29 | 20 | 19 | 14 | 149 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 48 | 44 | 81 | 105 | — | 10 | 19 | 109 | 16 | 99 | 99 | 116 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SSE 8 | ESE 6 | E 6 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | 24 | 47 | 114 | 152 | 430 | 177 | 182 | 708 | 993 | 1014 | 921 | 393 | 734 | 547 | 337 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 164 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 390 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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