Surf Forecasts:
Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast from 14 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 21 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 7s period, SSW swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 21 Sep, 2PM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 10s period, S swell with 3,394 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 15 Sep, 8PM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 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 15) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 12s. 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 4.0m 10s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Sep 21) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.5m 8s period and expected on Monday (Sep 14) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Tue 15th Sep) | 6ft (1.9m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Mon 21st Sep) | 10ft (3.0m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Mon 21st Sep) | 13ft (4.0m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right, Rusty here again. Let’s run through the same picture but in feet and the old-school numbers.
The start of the run is a bit flat and funky. Monday and Tuesday have some swell but the wind keeps the surface messy, so you’re not missing much. The water’s sitting right on the seasonal average, so no complaints there.
The real highlight lands on Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th at Richards Bay (Inside). Friday morning delivers a solid 7ft swell out of the southeast, short period, but the wind is light and cross-offshore, keeping the waves clean. The energy is really humming (1064). Saturday morning though – that’s the one. The swell is 8ft, still from the southeast, and the wind goes glassy. Dead still. The energy reading cranks even higher (1322). That’s a proper session for intermediate surfers – clean, powerful, and with plenty of push. Keep your head up for the crowd; it gets popular when it’s this good.
Monday the 21st is a beast – 13ft from the south with strong cross winds. That’s only for the brave, and honestly, it’s more about surviving than scoring.
After that, the swell backs off and the wind stays average, but Wednesday the 23rd offers another little opening. The morning is glassy with a clean 4ft swell from the south, long period at 14 seconds. That’s groundswell, perfect for the banks, and the energy is still strong (1227).
The final days of September are lean. Small swell and poor conditions from around the 24th. So don’t sleep on that Saturday the 19th – that’s your best shot.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Tue afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Tue afternoon, min 18°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the NNE on Mon night, calm by Tue night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 24mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 21°C on Fri afternoon, min 17°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | Saturday 19 | Sunday 20 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 15 | S 15 | E 8 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 7 | E 10 | E 10 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | E 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 392 | 109 | 597 | 550 | 637 | 587 | 569 | 500 | 326 | 346 | 339 | 681 | 582 | 607 | 929 | 1259 | 850 | 846 | 775 | 603 | 627 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 5:23PM1.97m | 5:32AM1.83m | 5:47PM1.83m | 5:57AM1.70m | 6:11PM1.67m | 6:22AM1.54m | 6:35PM1.49m | 6:47AM1.37m | 7:01PM1.32m | 7:19AM1.19m | 7:45PM1.14m | 11:25AM1.04m | 00:39AM1.13m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 11:11AM0.02m | 11:29PM0.12m | 11:37AM0.13m | 11:54PM0.24m | 12:03PM0.28m | 00:19AM0.38m | 12:28PM0.45m | 00:45AM0.55m | 12:54PM0.63m | 1:18AM0.73m | 1:29PM0.82m | 2:49AM0.90m | 6:06PM0.93m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | | |  | | |  |  | |  | | | | | |  | |
 | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — |
 | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:45 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | — | 21 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 21 |
Temp °C | 24 | 25 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 21 |
Feels °C | 20 | 20 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 15 | S 15 | E 8 | E 9 | S 12 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | E 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 |
| kJ | 157 | 109 | 597 | 550 | 25 | 587 | 569 | 500 | 326 | 346 | 339 | 593 | 582 | 607 | 929 | 1259 | 850 | 846 | 775 | 603 | 627 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | S 9 | S 14 | S 12 | — | S 11 | S 11 | S 18 | SW 16 | SSW 14 | SSE 7 | E 10 | S 13 | E 9 | E 9 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | S 12 | S 18 |
| kJ | 334 | 7 | 61 | 28 | — | 22 | 9 | 6 | 64 | 21 | 149 | 72 | 125 | 74 | 55 | 50 | 82 | 41 | 17 | 11 | 25 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 9 | — | — | — | — | S 19 | S 16 | SSW 18 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | S 8 | S 15 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 12 | — | — | SW 16 | — | S 11 |
| kJ | 7 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 13 | 34 | 116 | 357 | 50 | 25 | 13 | — | — | 10 | — | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 7 | ENE 8 | N 5 | ENE 9 | E 9 | — | — | SSW 3 | S 7 | S 7 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | — | — | — | — | ENE 5 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | — |
| kJ | 392 | 729 | 53 | 912 | 637 | — | — | 11 | 319 | 278 | 149 | 681 | — | — | — | — | 103 | 513 | 393 | 304 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 709 | 626 | 255 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 156 | 1056 | 155 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156 | 626 | 577 | 372 | 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