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Surf Forecasts:
Witsands surfForecast / Cape Town / South Africa
48hr Weather and Surf, issued 1 am 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
16.6° C
(Which is slightly cooler than normal)How big are the waves at Witsands today?
The current surf forecast for Witsands at 9AM is: 1.7m 14s primary swell from a West-southwest direction and 0.4m 16s secondary swell from a Southwest direction, 1.9m 6s secondary swell from a Southeast direction (forecast issued at 01:00am May 18). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.
| Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height | Wave Period |
|---|---|---|
| Morning (18 May) | 5.5ft (1.7m) | 14s |
| Afternoon (18 May) | 5ft (1.6m) | 14s |
| Evening (18 May) | 10ft (3.0m) | 7s |
Table - waves today at Witsands. (Swell directed towards the surf break)
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Wed night. Warm (max 20°C on Tue afternoon, min 16°C on Mon morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ESE on Mon night, light winds from the E by Wed night). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 18 | Tuesday 19 | Wednesday 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | 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 | |
950 | 1018 | 1053 | 1244 | 999 | 975 | 888 | 988 | 1310 | 1624 | 1884 | 1553 | 1149 | 926 | 1065 | 1341 | 1119 | 1010 | 665 | 532 | 459 | 449 | 470 | 372 | |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | |
High Tide | 3:55AM1.62m | 4:28PM1.51m | 4:43AM1.54m | 5:17PM1.46m | 5:34AM1.43m | 6:11PM1.39m | ||||||||||||||||||
Low Tide | 10:15AM-0.00m | 10:33PM0.14m | 11:02AM0.08m | 11:26PM0.22m | 11:52AM0.18m | |||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | | | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | | |  | | | | |  | |
 | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5:50 | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18 | |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | 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 | WSW 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 |
 kJ | 950 | 1018 | 1053 | 1244 | 999 | 975 | 888 | 772 | 745 | 624 | 536 | 528 | 520 | 451 | 402 | 325 | 233 | 226 | 184 | 180 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 109 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 14 | S 14 | SW 16 | — | SSW 15 | — | S 18 | S 18 | SE 17 | — | — | SSE 15 | SSE 15 | SSE 14 | SSE 14 | — | S 20 | SSE 12 | SW 16 | SSE 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 |
| kJ | 62 | 93 | 69 | — | 144 | — | 6 | 6 | 11 | — | — | 22 | 21 | 40 | 40 | — | 8 | 29 | 11 | 83 | 123 | 119 | 82 | 68 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 14 | S 14 | — | S 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 10 | — | — | SW 17 | SW 17 | SSW 16 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 15 | SW 14 |
| kJ | 59 | 59 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | 11 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 56 | 75 | 102 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | 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 |
| kJ | 135 | 164 | 220 | 273 | 325 | 575 | 807 | 988 | 1310 | 1624 | 1884 | 1553 | 1149 | 926 | 1065 | 1341 | 1119 | 1010 | 665 | 532 | 459 | 449 | 470 | 372 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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