The Heads 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 34.07° S 23.06° E

Issued: 1 am 17 Oct 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's The Heads sea temperature is

16.5°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 (17 Oct):

Morning surf: Morning surf (17 Oct, local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 12s period with SW swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (17 Oct, local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 12s period with SW swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (17 Oct, local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 12s period with SW swell.

The current surf forecast for The Heads at 9AM is: 1.9m 12s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.3m 8s secondary swell from a East direction (forecast issued at 01:00am October 17). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (17 Oct)	6ft (1.9m)	12s
Afternoon (17 Oct)	7.5ft (2.3m)	12s
Evening (17 Oct)	8ft (2.4m)	12s

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

	Short Range Forecast Heavy rain (total 33mm), heaviest during Sun night. Very mild (max 18°C on Sat morning, min 12°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.
	Saturday 17								Sunday 18								Monday 19
	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)	3	3	2	1	1	2	1	3	3	2	3	3	2	2	0	1	2	2	2	0	0	0	3	3
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12
Wave Graph
kJ	736	928	928	980	1313	1806	1777	1693	1539	1610	1500	1982	1591	1643	1883	1912	1764	1439	1659	1031	939	855	1130	963
Wind (km/h)	NW	WNW	W	SW	SW	SW	SSW	S	S	SSE	SE	S	S	S	SSW	SW	WSW	WSW	W	WSW	SW	WSW	WNW	NNW
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	on	on	on	cross-on	on	on	on	on	cross-on	cross	cross	cross	cross	cross-on	cross-on	glassy	glassy
High Tide			6:39AM1.21m				6:47PM1.17m				7:46AM1.09m					8:11PM1.05m				10:35AM1.07m
Low Tide	00:25AM0.55m				12:39PM0.68m				1:16AM0.67m				1:56PM0.80m					3:12AM0.75m				4:57PM0.81m


	—	5:43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:41	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	6:42	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:44	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	1	2	1	1	2	3	9	6	2	1	1	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	17	18	18	18	17	16	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	12	12	12	13	15	16	16	14	14
Feels °C	16	18	18	17	16	15	13	15	14	13	14	13	12	12	9	9	8	8	8	9	11	12	13	13
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12	SW 12
kJ	736	928	928	980	1313	1806	1777	1693	1539	1610	1500	1982	1591	1643	1883	1912	1764	1439	1659	1031	939	855	1130	963
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	SW 15	SSW 12	E 8	E 9	SE 6	SE 6	SE 6	SE 6	SE 7	SE 7	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 7	ESE 6
kJ	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	5	5	5	232	57	6	6	88	56	62	81	75	47	32	31	18	17
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	E 8	E 8	E 8	—	—	E 9	E 9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
kJ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12	5	6	—	—	6	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	S 6	S 6	—	—	—	WSW 4	WSW 5	SW 6	SW 6	SW 7	—	—
kJ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	166	178	—	—	—	17	37	143	190	171	—	—
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Kromme Rivermouth Eastern Cape (S)	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	The Wedge Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	The Wedge Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Arniston Overberg	Arniston Overberg	The Wreck Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Ding Dangs Garden Route	The Wreck Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route
Rating (10 max)	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	3	3
Distance (km)	0	0	7	7	7	7	164	11	29	26	26	29	26	269	269	30	7	7	7	7	88	30	0	0
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth	Goukamma River Mouth	Keurbooms	The Wreck	Lookout Beach	Keurbooms		Gerickes Point	Keurbooms	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	The Wreck	Gerickes Point			Brak River	Brak River	Brak River	Brak River	Buffalo Bay	Ding Dangs	The Wreck	Goukamma River Mouth	Gerickes Point
Rating (10 max)	3	3	4	3	4	4		4	4	4	4	4	4			4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	3
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Cape St Martin West Coast	Cape St Martin West Coast	Pringle Bay Overberg	Super Tubes Eastern Cape (S)	Super Tubes Eastern Cape (S)	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Koeel Bay Overberg	Paranoia Overberg	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Van Stadens Mouth Eastern Cape (S)	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Riet River Eastern Cape (S)	Kamer Van Cape Town	Heaven West Coast	Heaven West Coast	Treskostraal West Coast	Doring Bay West Coast	Kleinmond Overberg	Hout Bay Cape Town	Hout Bay Cape Town	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Whacky Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast
Rating (10 max)	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	4	4
Header Global	Afife Portugal	Afife Portugal	Afife Portugal	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Rio Nexpa Mexico	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Ahijedero Mexico	Airport Rights New Zealand	Nugget Point New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Ahijedero Mexico	Ahijedero Mexico	Keusik Luhur Indonesia	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Ahijedero Mexico	Dunedin - Kuri Bush New Zealand	Lebu Chile	Brims Ness United Kingdom	Brims Ness United Kingdom	Brims Ness United Kingdom	Alnes Lighthouse Norway
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	4	5	6	7	5	5	4	4	5	6	4	5	5	5	6	7	7

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 (17 Oct):

Short Range Forecast

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