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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 am Friday 08 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
18.6° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at The Heads today?
The current surf forecast for The Heads at 1PM is: 3.5m 13s primary swell from a Southeast direction and 1.4m 10s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 07:00am May 08). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore and the swell rating is 11.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (08 May) | 13ft (4.0m) | 13s |
| Afternoon (08 May) | 11ft (3.5m) | 13s |
| Evening (08 May) | 11ft (3.5m) | 13s |
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 Fri morning. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat afternoon, min 12°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (calm on Sat morning, strong winds from the WNW by Sun afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 8 | Saturday 9 | Sunday 10 | Mon 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | WSW 7 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | |
5582 | 5016 | 4180 | 4311 | 4915 | 4554 | 4144 | 3903 | 3344 | 2963 | 2397 | 2096 | 1945 | 1674 | 1413 | 1112 | 952 | 617 | 466 | 639 | 2851 | 3610 | 4121 | 4070 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 6:57AM1.25m | 7:53PM1.21m | 8:05AM1.16m | 9:24PM1.20m | 9:49AM1.13m | 10:53PM1.28m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 1:24PM0.56m | 2:03AM0.71m | 2:38PM0.62m | 3:45AM0.72m | 4:07PM0.61m | |||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | |  | | |  |  |  | | | | | | |
 | 7:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:09 |
 | — | — | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SW 13 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | WSW 11 |
 kJ | 5582 | 5016 | 4180 | 4311 | 4915 | 4554 | 4144 | 3903 | 3344 | 2963 | 2397 | 2096 | 1945 | 1674 | 1413 | 1112 | 952 | 617 | 466 | 451 | 212 | 150 | 67 | 4070 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SE 11 | E 6 | SE 14 | SE 13 | SE 10 |
| kJ | 202 | 196 | 454 | 386 | 920 | 909 | 864 | 777 | 757 | 746 | 590 | 590 | 590 | 513 | 485 | 451 | 392 | 340 | 335 | 326 | 3 | 29 | 46 | 25 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 | WSW 12 | E 11 | — | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | — | — | E 5 | — | — | — | ESE 6 | E 6 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SE 13 |
| kJ | 266 | 323 | 510 | 603 | 202 | 147 | 111 | 21 | — | 21 | 18 | 8 | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | 12 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 42 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 4 | — | — | W 4 | W 4 | W 6 | WSW 7 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 | WSW 11 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | 12 | 22 | 177 | 639 | 2851 | 3610 | 4121 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 377 | 33 | 611 | 686 | 173 | 33 | 33 |
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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