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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 Tuesday 05 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
19.2° C
(Which is normal for this time of year)How big are the waves at The Heads today?
The current surf forecast for The Heads at 2PM is: 1.4m 12s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.7m 11s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 07:00am May 05). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore and the swell rating is 3.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (05 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 12s |
| Afternoon (05 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 12s |
| Evening (05 May) | 8ft (2.4m) | 11s |
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 170mm), heaviest during Wed morning. Very mild (max 16°C on Tue night, min 13°C on Tue afternoon). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Tue morning, near gales from the SSE by Wed morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 5 | Wednesday 6 | Thursday 7 | Fri 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
SW 10 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | SSE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | |
275 | 578 | 578 | 578 | 472 | 1237 | 1549 | 1613 | 2968 | 6793 | 15295 | 12428 | 11726 | 13096 | 9733 | 8434 | 9825 | 9335 | 8735 | 8304 | 7067 | 5767 | 5219 | 4656 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross | |
High Tide | 5:08AM1.55m | 5:32PM1.45m | 5:39AM1.45m | 6:07PM1.36m | 6:13AM1.35m | 6:51PM1.28m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 11:21AM0.30m | 11:31PM0.43m | 11:53AM0.39m | 00:06AM0.53m | 12:32PM0.48m | 00:53AM0.63m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  | | | | |  |  | |  |  | | | | | | | | |  | |  | | | |
 | 7:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:07 |
 | — | — | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:39 |
1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 17 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 10 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 11 | S 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 |
 kJ | 275 | 578 | 578 | 578 | 472 | 1237 | 1549 | 1613 | 157 | 113 | 159 | 174 | 171 | 301 | 9733 | 8434 | 9825 | 9335 | 8735 | 8304 | 7067 | 5767 | 5219 | 4656 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | SW 16 | SW 16 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 164 | 161 | 161 | 123 | 408 | 421 | 371 | 190 | 127 | 127 | 91 | 93 | 55 | 77 | 245 | 176 | 140 | 138 | 136 | 128 | 174 | 255 | 238 | 212 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 18 | SW 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 11 | SSW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 12 | SSW 20 | SW 20 | SSW 19 |
| kJ | 157 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 80 | 61 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | 31 | 78 | 129 | 127 | 69 | 78 | 97 | 146 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | WSW 12 | — | S 5 | S 11 | SSE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 13 | — | SSW 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 658 | — | 42 | 2968 | 6793 | 15295 | 12428 | 11726 | 13096 | — | 283 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 30 | 88 | 341 | 165 | 172 | 361 | 465 | 390 | 350 | 343 | 88 | 88 | 343 | 496 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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