Surf Forecasts:
The Spot surf forecast from 16 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 23 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 15s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 23 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 15s period, SSW swell with 8,302 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 18 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 10s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Spot this week:
The surf forecast for The Spot over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 10s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Spot in the next 16 days are 4.5m 15s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 23) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.9m 10s period and expected on Monday (Aug 17) at 11AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Tue 18th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 15ft (4.5m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Sun 23rd Aug) | 15ft (4.5m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Spot over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the next couple of weeks.
It’s a bit of a slow burner, to be honest. We’re kicking off with a real flat spell. For the first few days, from Monday the 17th through Wednesday the 19th, The Spot is a total write-off. We’re looking at tiny little 0.3ft to 2ft lumps with no energy to speak of, and an onshore wind keeping things messy. You’re better off doing something else.
Thursday the 20th sees a bit of life, but it’s still pretty marginal. The swell picks up to 5-7ft from the SSW, but the period is a short, wind-chopped 8 seconds. The cross-off wind will keep it clean, but the energy is only moderate. It’s not a total loss, but don’t expect any magic.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting for the more experienced crew. The real power shows up on Sunday the 23rd. We’ve got a solid SSW swell pushing in, building to 12-13ft. The period jumps to 13-15 seconds, bringing heaps of energy. The wind is a clean cross-off from the S. The Spot is exposed to this direction, so it’ll be handling the brunt of it. At this size, over 8ft, this is strictly for the experts. This is the standout session on offer.
The ripples from that big swell will hang around into Monday the 24th, but the wind swings onshore from the ENE and it loses its shape, making a gloomy 12ft lump. Tuesday the 25th is a similar story with onshore winds and dropping swell (5-6ft). The rest of the week gets small and messy again.
We’ve got a long wait, but the next real window of opportunity looks to be a week-and-a-half away, on Sunday the 30th of August. The swell is back up to a solid 6-7ft from the SSW, and here’s the kicker – we finally get some decent offshore wind out of the SW. The conditions are described as “fresh offshore and clean” and “excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers” with moderate energy levels. That’s a promising sign for some proper, clean waves, but being so far out, just treat it as a hope, not a guarantee.
So, in short: ignore the first week. For those with the skills, brace for Sunday the 23rd. For everyone else, keep an eye on the end of the month. The Spot is a fairly consistent beach and reef set-up, so it never stays flat for long, but this run has some big gaps.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Mon afternoon, min 16°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Tue morning, calm by Tue night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Sat morning, min 16°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (calm on Thu night, strong winds from the SSW by Sat afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||
Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 5 | SW 12 | S 15 | SSW 15 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 8 | S 8 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 7 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 72 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 251 | 168 | 159 | 183 | 161 | 970 | 533 | 326 | 1437 | 1479 | 642 | 240 | 522 | 1026 | 1341 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | on | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | on | on | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 6:09AM1.60m | 6:30PM1.66m | 6:36AM1.48m | 6:58PM1.51m | 7:04AM1.34m | 7:27PM1.35m | 7:34AM1.19m | 8:02PM1.19m | 8:21AM1.04m | 9:31PM1.04m | 12:09PM0.97m | 00:57AM1.08m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:08AM0.18m | 12:13PM0.14m | 00:37AM0.30m | 12:41PM0.28m | 1:06AM0.42m | 1:10PM0.43m | 1:38AM0.56m | 1:43PM0.59m | 2:25AM0.71m | 2:38PM0.75m | 4:50AM0.80m | 6:12PM0.81m | |||||||
 |  | | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — |
 | 5:31 | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:32 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:34 | — | — | 5:35 | — | — | 5:35 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 18 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 19 |
Feels °C | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 11 | E 10 | SW 11 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 14 | ENE 7 | SSW 13 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | E 9 |
| kJ | 792 | 573 | 5 | 432 | 251 | 168 | 159 | 145 | 161 | 132 | 120 | 79 | 1437 | 1479 | 642 | 240 | 74 | 24 | 6 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | SE 10 | S 10 | SSW 15 | SW 18 | SSW 16 | S 4 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | E 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | ENE 8 | E 8 | — | — | — | ENE 7 |
| kJ | 8 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 26 | 9 | 183 | 52 | 79 | 34 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 12 | — | — | — | 5 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 12 | S 15 | SSW 10 | SSW 17 | SW 9 | SSW 16 | — | — | — | NE 7 | SW 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 7 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 3 | 50 | — | — | — | 8 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 5 | ENE 10 | ENE 10 | — | SSW 6 | S 5 | — | — | ENE 5 | SSW 15 | SSW 8 | S 8 | — | — | NE 4 | NE 7 | SSW 7 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 |
| kJ | 72 | 776 | 533 | — | 119 | 39 | — | — | 89 | 970 | 533 | 326 | — | — | 58 | 189 | 522 | 1026 | 1341 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 54 | 51 | 51 | 23 | 184 | 208 | 0 | 51 | 51 | 135 | 276 | 232 | 0 | 51 | 689 | 17 | 207 | 814 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our The Spot surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the The Spot Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Spot provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Spot can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Spot surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (The Spot) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for The Spot may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
The Spot is 2 km (1 miles) from Scottburgh. If you plan a holiday in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Scottburgh. Scottburgh has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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