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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 1 am Monday 04 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
18.3° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at The Heads today?
The current surf forecast for The Heads at 8AM is: 1.3m 10s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.9m 13s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 01:00am May 04). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 3.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (04 May) | 4.5ft (1.3m) | 10s |
| Afternoon (04 May) | 5.5ft (1.7m) | 10s |
| Evening (04 May) | 5ft (1.6m) | 13s |
Table - waves today at The Heads. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 147mm), heaviest during Wed morning. Warm (max 21°C on Mon morning, min 13°C on Tue afternoon). Winds increasing (calm on Mon night, near gales from the SE by Wed morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 4 | Tuesday 5 | Wednesday 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
SW 14 | SW 14 | WSW 10 | SW 11 | WSW 10 | SW 13 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | SSE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | |
341 | 331 | 367 | 458 | 576 | 1077 | 918 | 689 | 604 | 488 | 472 | 472 | 472 | 472 | 469 | 916 | 1148 | 1818 | 5614 | 7955 | 7823 | 8161 | 7111 | 5978 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | glassy | glassy | cross-off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | |
High Tide | 4:39AM1.63m | 5:01PM1.53m | 5:08AM1.55m | 5:32PM1.45m | 5:39AM1.45m | 6:07PM1.36m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:51AM0.23m | 10:59PM0.34m | 11:21AM0.30m | 11:31PM0.43m | 11:53AM0.39m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | |  |  | |  |  | | | | | | | | |  | | |  |  | | |  | | |
 | — | 7:03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:42 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 32 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 3 | |
Temp °C | 18 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
18 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 12 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 10 | SW 10 | WSW 10 | SW 11 | SSW 12 | SW 13 | WSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | S 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 12 | SW 15 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 |
 kJ | 316 | 310 | 367 | 458 | 258 | 1077 | 918 | 689 | 604 | 488 | 472 | 472 | 472 | 472 | 469 | 916 | 1148 | 193 | 115 | 91 | 174 | 7524 | 7111 | 5978 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | WSW 12 | SSW 18 | WSW 11 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | WSW 12 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 341 | 331 | 282 | 265 | 147 | 254 | 236 | 236 | 176 | 164 | 161 | 161 | 123 | 173 | 378 | 61 | 230 | 127 | 127 | 159 | 93 | 171 | 171 | 248 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | SSW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | SSE 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 16 | — | — | — | — | WSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 19 |
| kJ | 96 | 232 | 280 | 189 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 80 | 31 | 69 | — | — | — | — | 93 | 66 | 15 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | WSW 10 | WSW 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WSW 12 | SE 4 | SSE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 576 | 742 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 464 | 27 | 1818 | 5614 | 7955 | 7823 | 8161 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 30 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 343 | 390 | 172 | 164 | 172 | 390 | 390 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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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