Surf Forecasts:
Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 17 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 18 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 9s period, SE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 18 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 9s period, SSE swell with 1,811 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 18 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 9s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Thompsons Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 18) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.5m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Thompsons Bay in the next 16 days are 3.5m 9s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Sep 18) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 5s period and expected on Monday (Sep 21) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Fri 18th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Fri 18th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Fri 18th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 66mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 23°C on Sun morning, min 16°C on Thu afternoon). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Thu night, calm by Fri night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Warm (max 25°C on Wed morning, min 19°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NNE on Sun night, strong winds from the ENE by Tue afternoon). | |||||||||||||||||||
Thu 17 | Friday 18 | Saturday 19 | Sunday 20 | Monday 21 | Tuesday 22 | Wednesday 23 | ||||||||||||||
PM | 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) | S 8 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | E 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 458 | 1811 | 1467 | 1012 | 1034 | 601 | 498 | 422 | 450 | 392 | 329 | 223 | 266 | 270 | 269 | 603 | 477 | 237 | 500 | 107 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:34PM1.43m | 6:46AM1.30m | 7:00PM1.26m | 7:19AM1.13m | 7:45PM1.09m | 11:46AM1.01m | 00:35AM1.09m | 1:25PM1.18m | 1:29AM1.26m | 1:55PM1.38m | 2:00AM1.43m | 2:20PM1.56m | 2:27AM1.59m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:45AM0.53m | 12:53PM0.62m | 1:19AM0.70m | 1:29PM0.80m | 3:00AM0.86m | 6:08PM0.89m | 7:03AM0.75m | 7:28PM0.73m | 7:40AM0.58m | 7:58PM0.55m | 8:06AM0.41m | 8:25PM0.38m | ||||||||
 |  | |  |  |  |  |  | | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — |
 | 5:47 | — | — | 5:47 | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:51 | — |
mm | 5 | 45 | 5 | 6 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | 4 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 4 |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 21 |
Feels °C | 14 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 23 | 23 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 10 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | SSW 17 | E 8 | E 8 | SSW 12 | SSW 9 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | E 8 | E 8 | S 6 |
| kJ | 340 | 271 | 1467 | 1012 | 1034 | 601 | 498 | 422 | 360 | 100 | 329 | 223 | 29 | 8 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 153 | 84 | 91 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | S 8 | SSW 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | S 9 | SSW 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 13 | S 16 | SW 12 | SSW 16 | S 10 | S 10 | S 15 | S 15 | E 8 |
| kJ | 19 | 129 | 60 | 235 | 55 | 79 | 72 | 35 | 6 | 24 | 225 | 95 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 41 | 107 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | — | E 9 | SSW 12 | — | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | S 9 | SSW 12 | — | — | — | — | S 16 | — | — | — | — | S 14 | S 14 |
| kJ | 75 | — | 110 | 52 | — | 23 | 21 | 6 | 14 | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 62 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 8 | SSE 9 | — | — | — | — | ENE 4 | NE 8 | E 8 | E 8 | NNE 5 | — | E 8 | E 8 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | — |
| kJ | 458 | 1811 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 3 | 450 | 392 | 35 | — | 266 | 270 | 269 | 603 | 477 | 237 | 500 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 2585 | 117 | 741 | 93 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 724 | 522 | 25 | 42 | 39 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Thompsons Bay 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 Thompsons Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Thompsons Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Thompsons Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Thompsons Bay 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 (Thompsons Bay) 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 Thompsons Bay 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.
Thompsons Bay is 3 km (2 miles) from the city of Ballitoville. If you plan a holiday in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballitoville. Ballitoville has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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