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Surf Forecasts:
Witsands surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 7 pm Monday 18 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
16.7° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at Witsands today?
The current surf forecast for Witsands at 2AM is: 3.0m 8s primary swell from a Southeast direction and 1.5m 13s secondary swell from a West-southwest direction, 0.1m 17s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 07:00pm May 18). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (19 May) | 11ft (3.5m) | 9s |
| Afternoon (19 May) | 8ft (2.5m) | 9s |
| Evening (19 May) | 10ft (3.0m) | 9s |
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 Wed night, min 17°C on Mon night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ESE on Mon night, light winds from the ENE by Wed night). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mon 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wednesday 20 | Thu 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 | 11 AM | 2 PM | |
Swell Height Map |    |    |    |    | ||||||||||||||||||||
WSW 13 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SW 13 | SW 12 | |
975 | 918 | 1118 | 1221 | 1638 | 1903 | 1592 | 1058 | 906 | 1342 | 1176 | 1246 | 1156 | 987 | 668 | 470 | 449 | 411 | 289 | 187 | 147 | 142 | 163 | 144 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 4:28PM1.51m | 4:43AM1.54m | 5:17PM1.46m | 5:34AM1.43m | 6:11PM1.39m | 6:31AM1.29m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:33PM0.14m | 11:02AM0.08m | 11:26PM0.22m | 11:52AM0.18m | 00:24AM0.31m | 12:48PM0.29m | ||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | |  | | |
 | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — |
 | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:49 |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Temp °C | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | 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 | SSE 11 | WSW 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 |
 kJ | 975 | 796 | 772 | 745 | 669 | 536 | 528 | 451 | 414 | 402 | 325 | 233 | 226 | 184 | 193 | 123 | 109 | 109 | 82 | 187 | 147 | 140 | 114 | 109 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 8 | S 18 | S 18 | S 17 | — | — | S 15 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SE 14 | — | S 20 | SSE 12 | SW 16 | WSW 12 | SSE 11 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 125 | 6 | 6 | 6 | — | — | 18 | 21 | 40 | 47 | — | 8 | 87 | 11 | 180 | 111 | 119 | 82 | 47 | 95 | 113 | 142 | 163 | 144 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 10 | — | — | — | — | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SSE 11 | SW 20 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 36 | 56 | 75 | 102 | 47 | 47 | 23 | 23 | 66 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | — | — | — | NW 3 | NNW 3 |
| kJ | 550 | 918 | 1118 | 1221 | 1638 | 1903 | 1592 | 1058 | 906 | 1342 | 1176 | 1246 | 1156 | 987 | 668 | 470 | 449 | 411 | 289 | — | — | — | 2 | 3 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 29 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
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