Richards Bay (Outside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 28.80° S 32.10° E

Issued: 1 am 22 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Richards Bay (Outside) sea temperature is

22.0° C

Richards Bay (Outside) surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at Richards Bay (Outside) today (22 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (22 Jul, local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 12s period with SE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (22 Jul, local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 12s period with SE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (22 Jul, local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 12s period with SE swell.

The current surf forecast for Richards Bay (Outside) at 10AM is: 1.1m 12s primary swell from a Southeast direction and 0.7m 15s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 01:00am July 22). An open ocean swell of 0.7m 4s is not directed at the surf break. The wind direction is predicted to be cross-offshore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (22 Jul)	3.5ft (1.1m)	12s
Afternoon (22 Jul)	3.5ft (1.1m)	12s
Evening (22 Jul)	3.5ft (1.0m)	12s

Table - waves today at Richards Bay (Outside). (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Light rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Warm (max 27°C on Thu afternoon, min 18°C on Wed morning). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Fri morning, light winds from the SSW by Fri night).
	Wednesday 22								Thursday 23								Friday 24
	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	1	1	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ESE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ESE 12	S 14	S 14	S 13	SSW 13	SSW 6	S 8	S 9	S 9	S 9	S 9	S 10	S 10
Wave Graph
kJ	471	428	428	373	336	336	282	251	205	205	202	177	153	146	176	606	290	957	1521	1398	1219	1232	1318	1047
Wind (km/h)	NNE	NNE	N	NNE	NE	NE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NE	SW	WSW	WSW	SW	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW	S	S	S
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross-on	cross	cross	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on
High Tide				8:47AM1.29m				9:32PM1.32m				10:08AM1.18m					11:12PM1.25m				12:16PM1.17m
Low Tide		2:47AM0.66m				2:59PM0.66m				3:58AM0.76m				4:23PM0.77m					5:50AM0.78m				6:21PM0.77m


	—	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:39	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:39	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	5:15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:15	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	1	1	—	—
Temp °C	19	19	18	22	25	23	21	20	19	18	18	24	27	21	20	19	20	20	20	20	19	19	20	19
Feels °C	18	18	17	19	21	20	19	18	17	16	16	21	25	20	20	19	17	14	14	13	13	12	14	15
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ESE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	ESE 12	ENE 6	ENE 7	ENE 7	ENE 7	SE 12	ESE 11	SE 11	SE 11	SE 11	SE 11	SE 11	S 18
kJ	471	428	428	373	336	336	282	251	205	205	202	177	64	73	74	47	108	87	61	61	61	60	31	404
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 16	S 16	S 15	S 15	SSW 14	S 14	S 14	S 13	S 13	S 13	S 13	S 14	SE 12	SE 12	S 13	SE 12	ENE 7	ENE 7	ENE 6	NE 6	SSW 21	SE 11	SE 11	SE 11
kJ	188	174	221	218	280	253	179	171	125	125	87	106	142	142	176	110	18	9	4	2	89	77	42	31
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSW 11	E 9	S 6	E 9	E 9	E 9	—	—	—	—	—	SSW 15	S 14	S 14	SE 12	E 8	E 8	E 9	E 10	E 9	NE 6	ENE 10	ENE 10	E 10
kJ	85	13	3	6	6	6	—	—	—	—	—	126	153	146	140	6	1	6	2	2	2	10	10	8
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	ENE 5	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	SW 2	SW 3	SSW 13	SSW 6	S 8	S 9	S 9	S 9	S 9	S 10	S 10
kJ	12	12	14	18	24	87	138	111	107	84	77	75	156	1	2	606	290	957	1521	1398	1219	1232	1318	1047
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Siyayi KZN North	Mtunzini KZN North	Mtunzini KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Feldskoen and Mazeppa Bays Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Salt Rock KZN North	Salt Rock KZN North	Siyayi KZN North	Mtunzini KZN North	Siyayi KZN North	Mdumbe Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Sodwana KZN North	Quissico Inhambane	Quissico Inhambane	Whispering Waves Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Cintsa East Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Whispering Waves Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	The Spot Durban/KZN South	Bog Bay KZN North
Rating (10 max)	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	5	4	4
Distance (km)	50	37	37	157	157	488	157	116	116	50	37	50	445	0	0	0	204	512	512	559	587	559	208	127
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast	Kosi Bay	Kosi Bay	Kosi Bay	Kosi Bay				Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Siyayi		Alkantstrand	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Sodwana							Umdloti
Rating (10 max)	3	3	3	3				3	3	3	3	3		3	2	3	2							4
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Brak River Garden Route	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Hout Bay Cape Town	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Vleesbaai Overberg	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Vleesbaai Overberg	Vleesbaai Overberg	Dolphin Point Overberg	Victoria Bay Garden Route	Paranoia Overberg	Paranoia Overberg	Dolphin Point Overberg	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Fish Boma Garden Route
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	4	3	3	4	5	4	5	9	8	7	7	5	5	5	5
Header Global	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Papa Tangaroa Chile	Cathedral Rock Australia	Viri Inga O Tuki Chile	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Point Roadnight Australia	Daly Heads Australia	Blackfellows Australia	Point Roadnight Australia	Point Roadnight Australia	Dolphin Point South Africa	Dolphin Point South Africa	Boneyards South Africa	Boneyards South Africa	Sea Vista South Africa	Cathedral Rock Australia	Fish Boma South Africa	Fish Boma South Africa
Rating (10 max)	5	6	6	5	5	5	7	9	6	4	4	5	6	4	9	9	9	8	8	8	7	9	5	5

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Latest Updates

Ben Mondy

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Richards Bay (Outside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Richards Bay (Outside) today (22 Jul):

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