Surf Forecasts:
Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast from 8 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 10 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 16s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 5PM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 15s period, S swell with 2,164 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 8 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 9s period with SE 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 Wednesday (Jul 08) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 9s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Richards Bay (Inside) in the next 16 days are 2.2m 15s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 6s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 11AM (Fri 10th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Fri 10th Jul) | 7ft (2.2m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next 16 days.
Right then, let’s take a look at what’s coming up for the next couple of weeks here in the Richards Bay area. The early part of the week is a bit of a write-off for anything decent, but hang in there, because there’s a proper pulse of Southern Ocean groundswell heading our way that’ll wake things up nicely.
The water is sitting at a comfortable 71°, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year, no weird anomalies to worry about there.
So, the first real chance of a wave is Friday morning the 10th of July at Richards Bay (Inside). The swell is solid at 6ft from the south with a very long 16-second period, giving it serious push and shape. The wind is a light cross-offshore from the north-northeast, so those sandbars should be holding clean lines. The combined energy is cooking at 1572, which is strong. This is definitely for experienced surfers only at that size, but the quality is excellent.
Saturday the 11th still has size but the wind starts to muck things up, and Sunday and Monday are smaller and messy. Then we get another standout on Saturday morning the 18th of July. The swell is back up to 7ft from the south, period of 13 seconds, and it’s glassy with a light northerly breeze. The energy reading is 1650, which is proper for those inside sandbars. Again, at over 7ft this is expert territory, but it’ll be pumping.
After that, it drops off again with strong winds blowing through the final week, and nothing else really deserves a mention. So, if you’re keen and able, keep your eyes on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 18th – those are your two best windows.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Warm (max 24°C on Wed afternoon, min 17°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Sat morning. Warm (max 21°C on Sat afternoon, min 17°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | 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) | SE 9 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 16 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 | S 14 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 43 | 69 | 222 | 121 | 503 | 943 | 1526 | 2164 | 1427 | 1002 | 746 | 633 | 247 | 229 | 172 | 324 | 232 | 191 | 237 | 249 | 286 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-on | off | cross-off | on | cross | cross | on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:55AM1.39m | 9:43PM1.51m | 10:15AM1.31m | 11:09PM1.48m | 11:52AM1.32m | 00:36AM1.53m | 1:16PM1.43m | 1:47AM1.63m | 2:19PM1.58m | 2:43AM1.75m | 3:11PM1.73m | 3:31AM1.84m | 3:57PM1.86m | 4:14AM1.90m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:08PM0.52m | 4:09AM0.62m | 4:27PM0.58m | 5:40AM0.61m | 6:00PM0.56m | 7:02AM0.51m | 7:20PM0.46m | 8:06AM0.38m | 8:24PM0.33m | 8:57AM0.24m | 9:16PM0.21m | 9:42AM0.12m | 10:03PM0.13m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | | | | |  |  |  |  |  | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 6:45 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — |
 | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:07 | — | — | 5:08 | — | — | 5:08 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:10 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 19 |
Feels °C | 18 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 22 | 19 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | ESE 10 | ENE 6 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 16 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | S 13 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 43 | 36 | 44 | 121 | 503 | 943 | 1526 | 2164 | 1427 | 1002 | 746 | 633 | 200 | 93 | 127 | 183 | 222 | 191 | 237 | 249 | 286 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | SSW 14 | ESE 9 | E 8 | S 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 9 | E 8 | ESE 8 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 | S 14 | S 12 | S 11 | E 8 | S 10 |
| kJ | 12 | 69 | 33 | 30 | 103 | 46 | 28 | 28 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 247 | 229 | 172 | 324 | 232 | 130 | 84 | 140 | 50 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SE 9 | E 9 | E 12 | SSE 14 | SE 13 | SE 13 | — | — | E 8 | E 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 15 | S 14 | — | — | SE 8 | SSW 11 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 38 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 56 | 3 | 18 | 7 | 7 | — | — | 31 | 28 | 20 | 44 | 257 | — | — | 98 | 117 | 18 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | NE 5 | SSW 15 | SSW 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 6 | ESE 6 | E 7 | — | ESE 8 | NNE 3 | SW 3 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 |
| kJ | — | 29 | 222 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 195 | 57 | 70 | — | 214 | 4 | 3 | 72 | 48 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 116 | 55 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 155 | 0 | 0 | 207 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 559 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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