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Surf Forecasts:
Witsands surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 1 am Thursday 21 May 2026 SASTForecast update in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Witsands surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.
Today's Witsands sea temperature is
16.4° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at Witsands today?
The current surf forecast for Witsands at 6AM is: 1.1m 8s primary swell from a South-southeast direction and 0.6m 13s secondary swell from a Southwest direction (forecast issued at 01:00am May 21). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore and the swell rating is 2.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (21 May) | 2.5ft (0.7m) | 13s |
| Afternoon (21 May) | 2.5ft (0.8m) | 12s |
| Evening (21 May) | 2ft (0.6m) | 19s |
Table - waves today at Witsands. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu morning, min 16°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 21 | Friday 22 | Saturday 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 5 AM | 8 AM | 11 AM | 2 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM | 11 PM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 19 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 | |
171 | 149 | 140 | 199 | 175 | 147 | 144 | 227 | 314 | 379 | 427 | 504 | 574 | 813 | 733 | 757 | 821 | 787 | 834 | 659 | 563 | 459 | 1092 | 915 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | glassy | glassy | on | on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | |
High Tide | 6:31AM1.29m | 7:12PM1.32m | 7:38AM1.17m | 8:23PM1.26m | 8:57AM1.09m | 9:38PM1.25m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 00:24AM0.31m | 12:48PM0.29m | 1:33AM0.40m | 1:52PM0.39m | 2:54AM0.45m | 3:06PM0.46m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  | | | | | | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:47 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
19 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | SW 12 | SW 18 | SW 18 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 14 |
 kJ | 171 | 149 | 110 | 110 | 91 | 64 | 61 | 137 | 314 | 379 | 62 | 85 | 95 | 813 | 733 | 757 | 821 | 787 | 834 | 659 | 563 | 459 | 1092 | 915 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSE 7 | SW 11 | SSW 6 | SW 17 | SW 16 | SW 16 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | SW 8 | SW 8 | SW 8 | SSE 14 | SW 7 |
| kJ | 121 | 113 | 140 | 199 | 175 | 147 | 144 | 54 | 126 | 26 | 427 | 504 | 574 | 97 | 98 | 83 | 63 | 48 | 27 | 78 | 123 | 99 | 18 | 32 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SSE 11 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 20 | SW 19 | S 7 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 11 | WSW 11 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 10 | SE 13 | S 10 | S 9 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SW 11 | SW 20 | SSE 13 |
| kJ | 47 | 46 | 40 | 11 | 65 | 136 | 134 | 227 | 44 | 101 | 101 | 115 | 99 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 189 | 16 | 17 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | NNW 2 | NW 3 | NW 3 | NW 3 | — | — | SSW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 6 | SE 6 | SSE 3 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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