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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 Wednesday 20 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
17.9° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at The Heads today?
The current surf forecast for The Heads at 7AM is: 2.4m 8s primary swell from a East-southeast direction and 0.8m 13s secondary swell from a Southwest direction, 0.6m 12s secondary swell from a South-southeast direction (forecast issued at 01:00am May 20). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (20 May) | 8ft (2.5m) | 8s |
| Afternoon (20 May) | 8ft (2.5m) | 8s |
| Evening (20 May) | 8ft (2.4m) | 8s |
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 4mm), mostly falling on Wed night. Warm (max 24°C on Thu afternoon, min 15°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 20 | Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | |
750 | 629 | 691 | 731 | 750 | 750 | 733 | 1142 | 912 | 781 | 800 | 744 | 498 | 389 | 326 | 270 | 223 | 187 | 180 | 178 | 202 | 268 | 330 | 322 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 5:52AM1.63m | 6:26PM1.56m | 6:44AM1.47m | 7:26PM1.46m | 7:46AM1.31m | 8:37PM1.39m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:42PM0.25m | 12:10PM0.22m | 00:38AM0.37m | 1:02PM0.34m | 1:44AM0.50m | 2:04PM0.46m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | |  |  | | |  | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:30 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
16 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 16 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 12 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSW 16 |
 kJ | 199 | 231 | 187 | 120 | 116 | 96 | 69 | 672 | 612 | 541 | 554 | 498 | 498 | 389 | 326 | 270 | 223 | 187 | 151 | 145 | 118 | 96 | 77 | 322 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 13 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | E 8 |
| kJ | 106 | 136 | 101 | 98 | 57 | 78 | 54 | 68 | 80 | 113 | 123 | 118 | 138 | 134 | 120 | 116 | 89 | 87 | 84 | 80 | 79 | 268 | 330 | 55 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 9 | — | SSW 9 | SSW 9 | SSW 9 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SW 3 | S 12 | S 12 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 18 | SSW 17 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 |
| kJ | 17 | — | 16 | 17 | 8 | 47 | 43 | 84 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 44 | 131 | 180 | 178 | 202 | 77 | 99 | 73 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | — | SW 3 | — | WSW 4 | WSW 4 | WSW 4 | WSW 4 | SW 4 | — | WSW 6 | — | WSW 7 |
| kJ | 750 | 629 | 691 | 731 | 750 | 750 | 733 | 1142 | 912 | 781 | 800 | 744 | — | 2 | — | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | — | 21 | — | 66 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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