Surf Forecasts:
Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 11 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 15 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 9s period, ENE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 14 Sep, 5PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 9s period, ENE swell with 2,592 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 12 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s period with E 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 Saturday (Sep 12) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 6s. 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 4.0m 9s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Sep 14) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 4s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Tue 15th Sep) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Mon 14th Sep) | 13ft (4.0m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, grab your board and let’s look at what Thompsons Bay has in store. To be honest, the first week is a write-off. We’re looking at a lot of cross-shore and cross-onshore winds, choppy mess, and just poor conditions. The swell energy is there, but it’s mostly junky. The water is sitting at 68°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want the hood and booties if you’re thinking about paddling out. It’s a sheltered spot, but that doesn’t help when the wind is all over the place.
Friday and Saturday are a total no-go. Wind is ruining anything surfable. We start seeing a slight cleanup Tuesday morning, the 15th. A bit of glassy wind and some clean lines, but it’s still a bit of a mess for most of the day. That's the best we get early on, but it’s nothing to write home about.
Then it gets a bit wild. Monday the 14th sees some serious size, over 10ft, but with a near gale on it, it’s just a washing machine. Not for paddling. The real standouts are later. On the 20th, a Sunday, there’s a proper groundswell arriving. We’re looking at 5ft to 6ft of juicy SSW swell, with a long period of 18 to 20 seconds. The energy reading jumps to 1856 and 2133, which is strong. This is the one. The wind is still cross-shore, but the power and quality of this swell should overcome that. This is your expert window. It’s not for beginners, this is proper groundswell, and it’ll be breaking with a lot more punch. This is the pick of the whole run.
The next promising window is around the 25th, a Friday. We’ve got a solid 8ft of ENE swell, and the wind stays light, so it might be more manageable. This is another one for the more experienced crew, as it's a big, raw swell.
So, to be straight with you: get excited for Sunday the 20th, maybe keep an eye on the 25th, but don’t hold your breath on anything else. The first five days are dead. The long-range stuff looks promising but is less of a sure thing. But that Sunday, that's the one I'd be checking my board for.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Mon morning, min 19°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (calm on Fri night, strong winds from the NE by Mon morning). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Warm (max 26°C on Mon afternoon, min 18°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (near gales from the NE on Mon afternoon, light winds from the NNE by Tue night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | ||||||||||||||
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) | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | SSW 17 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 212 | 160 | 122 | 94 | 248 | 277 | 315 | 525 | 1155 | 2592 | 826 | 614 | 625 | 625 | 586 | 653 | 426 | 1055 | 453 | 635 |
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-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 4:00PM2.02m | 4:11AM1.90m | 4:29PM2.03m | 4:39AM1.89m | 4:56PM1.98m | 5:06AM1.84m | 5:22PM1.89m | 5:32AM1.74m | 5:47PM1.75m | 5:57AM1.61m | 6:10PM1.60m | 6:21AM1.47m | 6:34PM1.43m | |||||||
Low Tide | 10:07PM0.01m | 10:14AM-0.07m | 10:36PM0.00m | 10:42AM-0.05m | 11:03PM0.04m | 11:09AM0.03m | 11:29PM0.13m | 11:35AM0.14m | 11:54PM0.24m | 12:01PM0.28m | 00:19AM0.38m | 12:26PM0.45m | 00:45AM0.53m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | | | |  |  | | | | |  |  | | | |
 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — |
 | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:47 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Temp °C | 21 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
Feels °C | 19 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | S 16 | ENE 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 9 |
| kJ | 212 | 160 | 122 | 94 | 160 | 169 | 315 | 196 | 81 | 122 | 826 | 614 | 625 | 625 | 586 | 653 | 426 | 234 | 239 | 465 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 16 | S 5 | S 6 | S 8 | S 8 | SSE 8 | E 9 | SSE 8 | S 18 | — | E 9 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 10 | SSW 13 | — | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | E 10 |
| kJ | 81 | 12 | 9 | 68 | 86 | 85 | 74 | 40 | 54 | — | 490 | 49 | 27 | 23 | 10 | 32 | — | 21 | 18 | 154 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 19 | SSE 8 | S 10 | S 9 | — | SSW 14 | S 4 | — | S 17 | SSW 15 | S 17 | — | — | — | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 5 | 37 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 277 | 50 | 17 | 7 | — | 161 | 3 | — | 6 | 21 | 5 | — | — | — | 17 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | — | — | E 4 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 6 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | SSW 14 | — | — | — | — | ENE 6 | SSW 5 | S 8 | S 8 | S 9 |
| kJ | 49 | — | — | 7 | 248 | 260 | 139 | 525 | 1155 | 2592 | 63 | — | — | — | — | 159 | 205 | 1055 | 453 | 635 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 277 | 368 | 6 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 592 | 548 | 19 | 0 | 776 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 118 | 258 | 39 |
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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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