Richards Bay (Inside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 28.81° S 32.10° E

Issued: 1 pm 21 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Richards Bay (Inside) sea temperature is

21.9° C

Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Richards Bay (Inside) today (21 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (21 Jul, local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 12s period with SE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (21 Jul, local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 12s period with SE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (21 Jul, local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 12s period with SE swell.

The current surf forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) at 7PM is: 1.3m 12s primary swell from a Southeast direction and 0.5m 16s secondary swell from a South direction, 0.6m 3s secondary swell from a East-northeast direction (forecast issued at 01:00pm July 21). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-shore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (21 Jul)	4.5ft (1.4m)	12s
Afternoon (21 Jul)	4.5ft (1.4m)	12s
Evening (21 Jul)	4.5ft (1.3m)	12s

Table - waves today at Richards Bay (Inside). (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Some drizzle, heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 26°C on Wed afternoon, min 18°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SSE on Thu afternoon, strong winds from the SSW by Fri morning).
	Tue 21					Wednesday 22								Thursday 23
	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
Rating (10 max)	1	0	0	2	3	3	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ESE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SSW 14	S 14	S 14	S 13	SSW 13
Wave Graph
kJ	455	514	448	494	455	471	428	428	373	373	336	282	251	205	205	202	178	153	146	176	491
Wind (km/h)	NE	E	ENE	NE	N	N	N	N	NNE	NE	NE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE	N	NNE	SSE	SSW	SW	SW
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross	cross-on	cross-on	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-on	cross	cross	cross
High Tide					8:33PM1.46m				8:47AM1.29m				9:32PM1.32m				10:08AM1.18m
Low Tide			2:09PM0.51m				2:47AM0.66m				2:59PM0.66m				3:58AM0.76m				4:23PM0.77m


	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:39	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	5:14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:15	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	23	23	22	21	20	20	19	19	23	26	23	21	20	19	18	18	24	24	20	20	19
Feels °C	22	21	20	21	20	20	18	18	20	23	20	19	18	16	16	16	22	24	19	20	18
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ESE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ENE 6	ENE 7	ENE 7	ENE 7
kJ	455	514	448	494	455	471	428	428	373	373	336	282	251	205	205	202	142	66	70	77	61
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 9	S 12	S 12	S 16	S 16	S 16	S 16	S 15	S 15	S 14	S 14	S 14	S 13	S 13	S 13	S 13	S 14	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12
kJ	43	73	72	139	190	188	174	221	218	268	253	179	171	125	125	87	106	142	142	140	108
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSW 12	S 16	S 17	SSW 16	SSW 11	SSW 11	E 9	SSW 6	E 9	E 9	—	—	—	—	—	—	SSW 14	S 14	S 14	S 13	E 9
kJ	49	21	51	155	115	85	13	4	6	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	178	153	146	176	6
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	NE 6	NE 5	E 3	ENE 4	ENE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 5	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	ENE 6	NE 6	—	SW 3	SSW 13
kJ	5	4	5	10	10	10	12	16	16	27	110	138	111	100	84	80	67	161	—	4	491
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	St Lucia KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Mtunzini KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Mtunzini KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Cintsa East Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Salt Rock KZN North	Blythedale KZN North	Mtunzini KZN North	Siyayi KZN North	Mntafufu Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Senoritas KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North
Rating (10 max)	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	3	2	2
Distance (km)	58	156	156	36	0	0	36	0	156	156	587	156	116	98	36	50	391	1	1	0	1
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast	Kosi Bay			Umhlanga	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Kosi Bay	Richards Bay (Outside)	Kosi Bay				Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Siyayi		Alkantstrand	Alkantstrand	St Lucia	Mapelane
Rating (10 max)	3			3	3	3	3	3	3				3	3	3	2		2	3	3	2
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Hout Bay Cape Town	Hout Bay Cape Town	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Vredenberg Point West Coast	Riet River Eastern Cape (S)	Hout Bay Cape Town	Hout Bay Cape Town	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Vleesbaai Overberg	Vleesbaai Overberg	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Barbel Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Hout Bay Cape Town	Paranoia Overberg	Paranoia Overberg
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	4	4	3	3	4	3	4	5	5
Header Global	Asu Indonesia	Cape St Martin South Africa	Albatross South Africa	Sea Vista South Africa	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Gas Bay Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Gas Bay Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cathedral Rock Australia	Cathedral Rock Australia	Viri Inga O Tuki Chile	Aufaga Village Samoa	Cobblestones Australia	Boneyards South Africa	Albatross South Africa	Blackfellows Australia	The Hoek South Africa	Point Roadnight Australia
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	5	5	5	8	5	6	4	4	4	4	4	6	9

Map Icons:
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Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

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Richards Bay (Inside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Richards Bay (Inside) today (21 Jul):

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