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Surf Forecasts:
Witsands surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 1 am 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
16.8° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at Witsands today?
The current surf forecast for Witsands at 5AM is: 1.4m 13s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 1.2m 11s secondary swell from a South direction, 0.8m 4s secondary swell from a South-southeast direction (forecast issued at 01:00am 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. Very mild (max 18°C on Tue afternoon, min 16°C on Sun morning). Winds increasing (moderate winds from the SE on Sun morning, near gales from the SE by Mon night). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 17 | Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |    |    |    | |||||||||||||||||||||
WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | |
787 | 659 | 648 | 578 | 942 | 876 | 950 | 936 | 950 | 965 | 1053 | 1244 | 999 | 975 | 927 | 1151 | 1258 | 1461 | 1437 | 1318 | 1251 | 1124 | 1132 | 1180 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 3:08AM1.66m | 3:42PM1.54m | 3:55AM1.62m | 4:28PM1.51m | 4:43AM1.54m | 5:17PM1.46m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 9:30AM-0.04m | 9:45PM0.10m | 10:15AM-0.00m | 10:33PM0.14m | 11:02AM0.08m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | |  | | | |  | | |  | | | | | | | | |  | | |
 | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 |
13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | 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 |
 kJ | 787 | 659 | 648 | 578 | 942 | 876 | 950 | 936 | 950 | 965 | 1053 | 1244 | 999 | 975 | 888 | 772 | 745 | 669 | 659 | 528 | 520 | 512 | 437 | 320 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | S 11 | SSE 13 | S 13 | SSE 14 | S 14 | SW 16 | — | SSW 15 | — | S 18 | S 18 | SE 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 594 | 344 | 284 | 235 | 231 | 184 | 59 | 87 | 62 | 93 | 69 | — | 144 | — | 6 | 6 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 13 | W 13 | W 13 | WSW 15 | — | S 13 | S 13 | S 14 | S 14 | S 14 | — | S 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 3 | 3 | 3 | 126 | — | 89 | 92 | 58 | 59 | 59 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 5 | SSE 4 | SSE 4 | SSE 4 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | 37 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 40 | 54 | 118 | 130 | 181 | 195 | 235 | 251 | 309 | 537 | 927 | 1151 | 1258 | 1461 | 1437 | 1318 | 1251 | 1124 | 1132 | 1180 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 167 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 168 | 167 | 167 | 44 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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