Surf Forecasts:
Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 27 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 30 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, NE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 27 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 14s period, S swell with 1,638 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 30 Aug, 5AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period with NE 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 Sunday (Aug 30) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.0m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 2.2m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 0.5m and 11s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Thompsons Bay in the next 16 days are 2.1m 14s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 27) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Monday (Aug 31) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Sun 30th Aug) | 10ft (3.0m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Thu 27th Aug) | 7ft (2.1m) 14s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright mate, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Thompsons Bay.
First up, I gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim. We’ve got a solid run of "poor surf conditions" right through the entire 16-day window, which is a real bummer. The water temp is sitting at 71°, which is spot on for this time of year, so at least you won't be freezing while you're staring at the flatness.
The pattern is a mess of onshore and cross-shore winds, mostly from the NE, mixing up a lumpy, choppy surface. The swell energy is all over the place – we see a weak 220 (combined energy) on Tuesday the 1st of September, but it jumps up to a massive 10759 on Friday the 4th of September. The problem is, even when the swell is big, the wind is ruining it. For instance, Thursday the 27th of August kicks off with a 7ft S swell (14 seconds) but it's got a fresh 35 km/h cross-shore wind, making it a total write-off.
The real standout, if you can call it that, is the morning of Monday the 7th of September. It's only a marginal call, but a 7ft SE swell (11 seconds) with a light 10 km/h cross-on breeze from the east. That's the cleanest wind we'll see for a while, and the long period means there's some real energy there (1723 combined energy). The swell direction is SE, which is what Thompsons Bay likes best. It's a sheltered spot, and it's fairly consistent, but it's an intermediate wave. The 7ft is a bit much for a beginner, but for the experienced crew, if you're desperate, that's the window. Expect crowds though, because it's "sometimes" busy.
The rest of the first week is a write-off, and the second week is even worse. Big 21ft S swells on the 4th and 5th of September, but with terrible wind, it's a good time to be a kite surfer, not a paddle surfer. The last few days of the forecast are all small, weak, and onshore.
Honestly, for the 16 days, the 7th of September morning is the only one that's even worth a mention. It's marginal, but it's the best of a bad bunch.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Sat afternoon, min 16°C on Thu night). Mainly strong winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Warm (max 23°C on Mon morning, min 18°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Sun morning, calm by Mon night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | SSE 7 | E 9 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | SSW 15 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1638 | 1006 | 757 | 455 | 794 | 614 | 661 | 1292 | 919 | 477 | 370 | 246 | 251 | 273 | 254 | 152 | 253 | 374 | 102 | 187 | 322 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 3:43PM1.81m | 3:50AM1.81m | 4:09PM1.91m | 4:17AM1.87m | 4:35PM1.97m | 4:44AM1.88m | 5:03PM1.99m | 5:12AM1.86m | 5:31PM1.95m | 5:41AM1.79m | 6:01PM1.86m | 6:12AM1.67m | 6:34PM1.71m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:31AM0.13m | 9:46PM0.16m | 9:56AM0.03m | 10:13PM0.08m | 10:22AM-0.03m | 10:41PM0.04m | 10:48AM-0.04m | 11:09PM0.04m | 11:16AM-0.01m | 11:39PM0.09m | 11:46AM0.06m | 00:10AM0.18m | 12:18PM0.18m | 00:45AM0.33m | |||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | | | |  | |
 | 6:16 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — | 6:11 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — |
 | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 25 |
Feels °C | 15 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 23 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | ENE 9 | ENE 10 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | SSE 7 | E 9 | SSW 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 1638 | 1006 | 757 | 455 | 292 | 184 | 243 | 187 | 101 | 477 | 370 | 246 | 251 | 273 | 254 | 152 | 11 | 163 | 102 | 187 | 216 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | S 17 | — | — | SSE 16 | S 15 | — | — | — | SE 15 | SSE 11 | S 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 11 | E 9 | SSE 6 | S 9 | E 8 | E 8 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 |
| kJ | — | 278 | — | — | 86 | 163 | — | — | — | 8 | 24 | 100 | 23 | 11 | 235 | 44 | 7 | 69 | 86 | 71 | 322 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 14 | SSE 12 | S 7 | SSE 11 | SSW 7 | SSW 8 | SW 11 | S 8 | SW 14 | SSE 8 | SSW 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 27 | 23 | 11 | 128 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 46 | 6 | 24 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | SSW 6 | S 6 | — | NE 4 | S 6 | — | NE 3 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | SW 2 | S 4 | — |
| kJ | 88 | 309 | 352 | 405 | 794 | 614 | 661 | 1292 | 919 | 173 | 128 | — | 14 | 86 | — | 12 | 253 | 374 | 1 | 19 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 732 | 750 | 314 | 442 | 514 | 314 | 471 | 548 | 150 | 172 | 443 | 0 | 42 | 368 | 6 | 373 | 373 | 0 | 116 | 39 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
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.
Nearest