Surf Forecasts:
Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast from 31 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 5 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 10s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 6 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 19s period, SSE swell with 7,567 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 1 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Richards Bay (Inside) this week:
The surf forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Richards Bay (Inside) in the next 16 days are 3.5m 19s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 06) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.2m 7s period and expected on Thursday (Sep 03) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Sat 5th Sep) | 6ft (1.8m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Sun 6th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 19s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s talk about it.
We’re starting off with a flat and messy stretch for Richards Bay. The first few days are pretty much a no-go. Tuesday morning, September 1st, delivers a tiny 3ft ESE swell with a cross-off breeze, but the energy is weak (111) and the surf quality is poor. That afternoon, the wind shifts and things get worse.
Wednesday morning, September 2nd, is the only real bright spot early on. We’ve got glassy conditions with a 2ft S swell, but it’s a long-period 14 seconds — that’s a slow-moving groundswell, not ideal for a sandbar setup. The energy is still weak (111). It’s surfable but nothing special. After that, the wind picks up and conditions go downhill quickly.
From Thursday the 3rd through Sunday the 6th of September, we see a solid but messy run of S and SSE swell, building to 7ft and 12ft on Friday and Sunday, but the wind is ugly — cross, cross-on, and strong. The energy is high (1249 on Friday, 1851 on Sunday), but it’s all windblown and lumpy. Not a paddling session, more like a kite day.
Monday the 7th of September morning brings a massive 8ft S swell with a 16-second period and onshore wind, energy 2968 — that’s a lot of power, but it’s a messy onshore mess. Maybe for experts only, and even then, the wind ruins it.
The second week is pretty quiet. Thursday the 10th of September is flat with tiny 1ft SSE swell. Sunday the 13th of September morning offers a 4ft S swell with light cross-on wind and decent energy (454), but it’s still marginal. A few other mornings show clean cross-off winds, but the swell is too small or weak.
Truth is, mate, there’s no real standout day in this 16-day window. The best you’ll get is a chance on Wednesday morning, September 2nd, for a glassy 2ft wave, but it’s barely a ripple. Or maybe the morning of the 13th if you’re keen. But overall, it’s a quiet spell. If you’re not in a hurry, wait for the next forecast to change.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 33°C on Wed morning, min 19°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (calm on Mon night, fresh winds from the NE by Thu afternoon). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 32mm), heaviest during Sun afternoon. Warm (max 26°C on Thu night, min 18°C on Sun afternoon). Winds increasing (calm on Sat night, strong winds from the S by Sun afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | ESE 8 | ENE 5 | SSW 14 | S 14 | S 15 | S 16 | S 14 | S 13 | SSW 5 | S 9 | S 8 | S 11 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | E 10 | E 10 | SSE 8 | SSE 18 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 130 | 94 | 128 | 39 | 107 | 283 | 612 | 253 | 123 | 98 | 703 | 1204 | 1201 | 604 | 477 | 363 | 177 | 1341 | 7328 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | on | cross | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 5:42AM1.88m | 6:01PM1.93m | 6:12AM1.76m | 6:34PM1.78m | 6:46AM1.60m | 7:12PM1.59m | 7:29AM1.41m | 8:07PM1.38m | 8:47AM1.21m | 10:24PM1.22m | 12:06PM1.21m | 00:55AM1.33m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:39PM0.08m | 11:47AM0.06m | 00:10AM0.18m | 12:19PM0.18m | 00:45AM0.33m | 12:56PM0.36m | 1:27AM0.52m | 1:43PM0.56m | 2:33AM0.71m | 3:18PM0.76m | 5:17AM0.79m | 6:25PM0.74m | |||||||
 |  | |  | | | | | | |  |  |  |  | | |  |  |  | |
 | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — |
 | 5:36 | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:37 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:38 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 1 | 10 | 13 | 1 |
Temp °C | 20 | 25 | 29 | 23 | 33 | 23 | 22 | 33 | 32 | 26 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
Feels °C | 22 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 31 | 22 | 18 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 12 | 11 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | ESE 8 | S 8 | SSW 14 | E 8 | ENE 8 | S 16 | S 14 | S 13 | ENE 8 | E 8 | E 10 | S 11 | ESE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | E 10 | E 10 | SSW 18 |
| kJ | 130 | 94 | 11 | 39 | 121 | 104 | 612 | 253 | 123 | 167 | 78 | 45 | 1201 | 604 | 211 | 363 | 177 | 47 | 4816 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 5 | S 8 | S 15 | S 7 | S 14 | S 15 | ENE 8 | — | — | — | E 10 | NE 8 | E 9 | SSE 10 | S 15 | E 10 | SE 8 | SSW 21 | E 9 |
| kJ | 16 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 107 | 283 | 101 | — | — | — | 48 | 17 | 28 | 370 | 104 | 94 | 125 | 463 | 111 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | SE 10 | S 11 | SSW 7 | S 7 | E 8 | SSW 5 | — | — | — | — | — | S 18 | S 16 | E 11 | S 13 | S 11 | NE 7 | — |
| kJ | 37 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 51 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 78 | 37 | 54 | 60 | 8 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NE 3 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | — | S 3 | NE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | SSW 5 | S 9 | S 8 | SE 8 | ENE 8 | ESE 8 | E 10 | ENE 9 | SSE 8 | SSE 18 |
| kJ | — | 2 | 128 | 107 | — | 6 | 112 | 173 | 537 | 98 | 703 | 1204 | 469 | 202 | 477 | 326 | 259 | 1341 | 7328 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 156 | 156 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 372 | 559 | 429 | 1282 | 2004 | 626 | 88 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 626 | 1056 |
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Richards Bay (Inside) Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Richards Bay (Inside) provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Richards Bay (Inside) can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Richards Bay (Inside)) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Nearest