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Surf Forecasts:
Witsands surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 1 pm Sunday 17 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
16.6° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at Witsands today?
The current surf forecast for Witsands at 7PM is: 1.7m 13s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.4m 13s secondary swell from a South-southeast direction, 1.4m 10s secondary swell from a South-southeast direction (forecast issued at 01:00pm May 17). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (17 May) | 4.5ft (1.4m) | 13s |
| Afternoon (17 May) | 5ft (1.6m) | 14s |
| Evening (17 May) | 5.5ft (1.7m) | 13s |
Table - waves today at Witsands. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 16°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (near gales from the SE on Mon night, light winds from the ESE by Wed morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 17 | Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wed 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 2 AM | 5 AM | 8 AM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | |
578 | 942 | 876 | 950 | 936 | 950 | 1018 | 1053 | 1244 | 999 | 975 | 888 | 1008 | 1159 | 1415 | 1689 | 1465 | 1235 | 1098 | 1448 | 1544 | 1411 | 1414 | 993 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 3:42PM1.54m | 3:55AM1.62m | 4:28PM1.51m | 4:43AM1.54m | 5:17PM1.46m | 5:34AM1.43m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 9:30AM-0.04m | 9:45PM0.10m | 10:15AM-0.00m | 10:33PM0.14m | 11:02AM0.08m | 11:26PM0.22m | ||||||||||||||||||
 | | |  |  | | |  | | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — |
 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | 5:50 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 |
14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 |
 kJ | 578 | 942 | 876 | 950 | 936 | 950 | 1018 | 1053 | 1244 | 999 | 975 | 888 | 722 | 745 | 669 | 615 | 528 | 520 | 451 | 402 | 325 | 309 | 226 | 184 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | SSE 13 | S 10 | S 10 | S 14 | SSE 13 | — | SSW 15 | SSW 8 | S 18 | S 18 | SE 17 | SE 16 | — | SSE 15 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | — | — | — | SW 19 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 235 | 231 | 184 | 59 | 72 | 71 | 93 | 57 | — | 144 | 171 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 10 | — | 22 | 21 | 40 | — | — | — | 15 | 11 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 15 | — | S 13 | S 14 | S 13 | SSE 14 | S 14 | SW 16 | S 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 126 | — | 89 | 34 | 87 | 62 | 59 | 69 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 4 | SSE 4 | SSE 5 | SSE 10 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 |
| kJ | 26 | 34 | 40 | 392 | 90 | 95 | 149 | 164 | 240 | 325 | 533 | 712 | 1008 | 1159 | 1415 | 1689 | 1465 | 1235 | 1098 | 1448 | 1544 | 1411 | 1414 | 993 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 47 | 168 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 44 | 44 | 35 | 39 | 30 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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