Surf Forecasts:
Richards Bay (Inside) surf forecast from 14 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 14 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 10s period, ESE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 15 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 11s period, ESE swell with 853 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 14 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 10s 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 Tuesday (Jul 14) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.0m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Richards Bay (Inside) in the next 16 days are 1.9m 11s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 15) at 8PM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 9s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 18) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Tue 14th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Tue 14th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Wed 15th Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Richards Bay (Inside) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at what’s coming up for Richards Bay (Inside). It’s a sandbar setup, fairly exposed to the swell.
Water temp is sitting at 72°F, which is just about bang on average for this time of year, so nothing wild there – just normal.
We’ve got a bit of a wait for the real deal, but let’s run it down.
The pick of the whole forecast is Tuesday morning, July 14th. We’ve got clean 7ft swell from the ESE, a 9-second period, and it’s glassy – 3 mph from the ENE. Combined wave energy is a solid moderate 742. That’s going to be clean, fun, and a proper standout for intermediate surfers. Crowds are possible here, so get in early.
Wednesday morning, July 15th, holds up okay too. Swell drops a touch to 6ft, still from the ESE, period bumps to 10 seconds. Wind is light cross-offshore from the NE, so it stays clean. Not a huge standout, but a solid session.
After that, things get patchy. Thursday and Friday see the swell drop and the wind turn more onshore or cross-shore, so don’t expect much. Saturday morning the 18th goes glassy again, but the swell is small – only 3ft. Good for a longboard or a learner session.
Then we hit a rough patch from Saturday afternoon through to the end of the third week. Lots of poor surf conditions, strong winds, and messy chop. Not worth chasing.
Now, jumping ahead to Wednesday, July 22nd – this is a weird one. The morning shows a 6ft swell from the S with a very long 16-second period. Wave energy is strong at 1961. But the wind is a moderate cross-shore from the SSW, so it’ll have some chop. This is only for experienced surfers because of the size and period. A long-period swell like that can make a sandbar break a bit tricky, but if you know the bank, it could offer some power.
Wednesday morning, July 29th, is another late shout – clean with a 3ft south swell, 15-second period, light offshore wind. Glassy again by the afternoon. Small but clean for a session.
Overall, the real gold is that Tuesday morning, July 14th. After that, it’s a mix of small waves or windy conditions, with only a couple of late, less certain options.
Keep an eye on the long-range, but for now, get that Tuesday morning.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Wed afternoon, min 17°C on Tue morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 27°C on Sun afternoon, min 17°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 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) | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | S 10 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 13 | SE 13 | SE 12 | SE 10 | SE 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 687 | 817 | 788 | 612 | 808 | 643 | 388 | 307 | 248 | 230 | 197 | 147 | 147 | 76 | 190 | 263 | 114 | 205 | 278 | 173 | 277 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-on | off | cross-off | on | cross-off | cross | on | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 3:57PM1.86m | 4:14AM1.90m | 4:40PM1.95m | 4:54AM1.92m | 5:20PM1.98m | 5:31AM1.89m | 5:59PM1.95m | 6:08AM1.81m | 6:36PM1.87m | 6:43AM1.71m | 7:13PM1.75m | 7:19AM1.58m | 7:51PM1.61m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:42AM0.12m | 10:03PM0.13m | 10:24AM0.04m | 10:45PM0.10m | 11:03AM0.01m | 11:26PM0.13m | 11:40AM0.02m | 00:04AM0.19m | 12:16PM0.10m | 00:42AM0.29m | 12:52PM0.21m | 1:20AM0.41m | 1:29PM0.35m | 2:00AM0.54m | |||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — |
 | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:14 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 27 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 20 |
Feels °C | 21 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | S 10 | S 12 | SSE 11 | SSE 10 | SE 13 | SE 12 | S 6 | SE 12 |
| kJ | 687 | 817 | 788 | 612 | 808 | 643 | 388 | 307 | 248 | 230 | 197 | 147 | 147 | 76 | 190 | 263 | 98 | 205 | 278 | 54 | 277 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SSW 5 | S 8 | S 13 | SSW 9 | SSW 14 | S 11 | S 14 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | SSE 10 | ESE 9 | SE 10 | SSE 6 |
| kJ | 55 | 33 | 18 | 8 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 8 | 66 | 89 | 26 | 63 | 125 | 35 | 85 | 64 | 64 | 96 | 28 | 173 | 46 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | S 10 | S 17 | S 19 | SE 11 | SSE 11 | S 12 | SSE 9 | SSW 15 | SE 10 | SSW 12 | SW 13 | S 15 | S 14 | S 10 | S 15 | SSE 13 | NE 6 | NE 6 | SE 13 | S 13 |
| kJ | — | 31 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 29 | 88 | 19 | 61 | 70 | 4 | 114 | 31 | 5 | 87 | 130 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | SW 3 | SSW 5 | — | — | — | ENE 3 | — | NE 3 | ENE 9 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | — | S 6 | — | NE 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 17 | — | — | — | 3 | — | 2 | 295 | 43 | 28 | 39 | — | 105 | — | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 156 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 0 | 0 | 156 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 0 | 0 | 156 | 36 | 50 | 116 | 1 | 0 | 156 | 36 |
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