Surf Forecasts:
Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast from 5 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 7 Sep, 8PM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 16s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 7 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 18s period, S swell with 4,554 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 5 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 8s period with ESE 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 Saturday (Sep 05) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.7m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 9s. 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 2.5m 18s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Sep 07) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.4m 7s period and expected on Wednesday (Sep 09) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Sat 5th Sep) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Mon 7th Sep) | 7ft (2.1m) 16s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Mon 7th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 18s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right then, let’s take a look at what’s coming up for Richards Bay (Inside). It’s a sandbar setup, fairly exposed to the south swell, and it’s usually consistent. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is about normal for this time of year. To be honest, the outlook is a bit of a mixed bag for the next week or so, with a whole lot of days where the conditions just aren’t coming together. We’ve got a gap from now until Saturday, the 7th of September, where the surf is just not worth paddling out for.
The first real glimmer of hope comes on Monday, the 7th of September. We’ve got a solid pulse of groundswell arriving, 8ft from the south with a very long period of 18 seconds. That’s proper energy – the combined energy reading is a strong 4645. The wind is light from the ENE, but it’s cross-onshore, which is a bit of a bummer. The size is definitely pushing into experienced surfer territory, over 8ft, and with that long period, it’s going to be a bit more lined up at the sandbar, but the cross-off wind on the other side of the day could be a cleaner window. It's a bit of a tease, really.
The following week is quiet until Sunday, the 20th of September. That morning, the stars nearly align. We’re looking at a 10ft swell from the south, with a period of 10 seconds, and the wind is a clean offshore from the NNE. The combined energy is a strong 1674. The report says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break, and I’d have to agree – 10ft is serious, expert-only territory at a spot like this. It’s a real shame about the wind and tide being favorable, but the sheer size just overwhelms the setup. The afternoon cleans up a bit energy-wise, but the wind swings cross-shore.
So, what’s the best on offer? I’d have to say that Monday, the 7th, is the standout for the first week, if you can handle the size and the cross-onshore wind. It’s got the most grunt. For the long-range, keep an eye on Sunday, the 20th of September, for a very clean, offshore morning, but only if you’re a proper charger. The rest of the time, it’s mostly small, weak, and choppy. Just not our season.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat morning, min 18°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Thu afternoon, min 18°C on Tue night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | |||||||||||||||
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 | ESE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 22 | S 18 | S 16 | S 15 | S 13 | SSE 13 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | E 9 | SE 13 | SE 12 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 471 | 419 | 401 | 294 | 226 | 924 | 4554 | 2709 | 1246 | 521 | 273 | 135 | 111 | 62 | 185 | 41 | 36 | 108 | 264 | 364 | 188 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | glassy | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | on | cross | cross |
High Tide | 8:47AM1.21m | 10:24PM1.22m | 12:06PM1.21m | 00:55AM1.33m | 1:34PM1.43m | 1:55AM1.53m | 2:21PM1.67m | 2:36AM1.72m | 2:58PM1.87m | 3:10AM1.86m | 3:30PM2.02m | 3:42AM1.96m | 4:01PM2.10m | 4:12AM2.00m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:18PM0.76m | 5:17AM0.79m | 6:25PM0.74m | 7:14AM0.61m | 7:44PM0.53m | 8:05AM0.39m | 8:29PM0.33m | 8:42AM0.20m | 9:05PM0.17m | 9:15AM0.05m | 9:37PM0.06m | 9:46AM-0.05m | 10:07PM-0.00m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — |
 | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:38 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:39 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:42 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 21 |
Feels °C | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 21 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 18 | S 16 | S 15 | S 13 | SSE 13 | SSE 11 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | E 9 | SE 13 | SE 12 | E 9 | E 9 | S 16 | E 9 |
| kJ | 471 | 419 | 401 | 294 | 226 | 165 | 4554 | 2709 | 1246 | 521 | 273 | 135 | 111 | 62 | 185 | 41 | 36 | 108 | 264 | 126 | 188 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | SSE 9 | E 10 | S 11 | S 11 | S 22 | ESE 7 | E 9 | E 10 | ESE 10 | S 18 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SE 16 | SE 11 | SSW 17 | SE 15 | SSW 14 |
| kJ | 369 | 254 | 71 | 149 | 146 | 924 | 91 | 108 | 68 | 19 | 6 | 89 | 28 | 3 | 44 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 93 | 33 | 67 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 15 | S 15 | S 12 | S 15 | S 25 | S 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 16 | S 16 | S 16 | S 15 | S 14 | SE 14 | SE 16 | SSE 12 | SE 13 |
| kJ | 74 | 104 | 47 | 38 | 201 | 138 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 38 | 13 | 28 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 8 | — | — | — | — | — | E 10 | NNE 3 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | NE 7 | ENE 10 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 9 | E 9 | NNE 5 |
| kJ | — | 144 | — | — | — | — | — | 154 | 3 | 132 | 341 | 273 | 276 | 540 | 244 | 556 | 420 | 225 | 445 | 364 | 17 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 156 | 156 | 0 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 116 | 50 | 0 | 630 | 849 | 156 | 577 | 630 | 116 | 391 | 156 | 50 | 391 | 0 | 1 |
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