Richards Bay (Outside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 28.80° S 32.10° E

Issued: 7 am 20 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Richards Bay (Outside) sea temperature is

22.1° 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 (20 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (20 Jul, local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 12s period with SE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (20 Jul, local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 12s period with SE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (20 Jul, local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 12s period with SE swell.

The current surf forecast for Richards Bay (Outside) at 3PM is: 1.8m 12s primary swell from a Southeast direction and 0.4m 9s secondary swell from a East direction, 1.2m 6s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 07:00am July 20). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (20 Jul)	5.5ft (1.7m)	12s
Afternoon (20 Jul)	6ft (1.8m)	12s
Evening (20 Jul)	6ft (1.8m)	12s

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

	Short Range Forecast Mostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Wed afternoon, min 17°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (calm on Mon night, fresh winds from the NE by Wed afternoon).
	Monday 20							Tuesday 21								Wednesday 22
	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	1	0	0	2	2	3	3	3	3	2	0	1	2	3	3	3	2	2	0	0	1	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 12	SE 12	SE 13	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12
Wave Graph
kJ	933	940	990	882	1100	910	895	819	614	561	503	514	448	448	448	463	428	373	373	336	336	287	209
Wind (km/h)	SW	SW	S	S	S	SSE	NW	NNW	N	N	NE	ENE	ENE	NE	NNE	N	NNE	N	NNE	NE	NE	NNE	NNE
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross	cross	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	glassy	off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross-on	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off
High Tide		7:19AM1.58m				7:51PM1.61m				7:58AM1.43m					8:33PM1.46m				8:47AM1.29m				9:32PM1.32m
Low Tide				1:29PM0.35m				2:00AM0.54m					2:09PM0.51m				2:47AM0.66m				2:59PM0.66m


	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	5:14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:15	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	18	18	21	21	20	20	19	17	17	17	20	23	21	21	21	20	19	18	23	26	22	21	20
Feels °C	17	16	18	18	19	20	20	17	17	17	20	21	19	21	21	20	18	16	20	22	20	19	18
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 12	SE 12	SE 13	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12	SE 12
kJ	933	940	990	882	1100	910	895	819	614	561	503	514	448	448	448	463	428	373	373	336	336	287	209
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	E 10	ESE 9	E 9	E 9	SSW 15	E 10	SSW 14	SSW 13	S 9	SSW 10	S 12	S 12	SSW 12	S 16	S 16	S 16	S 16	S 15	S 15	S 14	S 14	S 13	S 13
kJ	49	29	28	28	21	16	36	34	110	52	144	73	47	139	190	188	174	221	218	268	253	176	171
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ENE 6	NE 6	SW 12	SSW 16	E 9	S 15	E 9	SSW 11	SSW 13	S 9	E 9	S 16	S 17	SSW 16	SSW 11	SSW 11	E 9	E 9	E 9	E 9	E 9	—	—
kJ	3	1	39	24	6	17	6	22	34	25	6	21	51	155	115	85	13	13	6	6	6	—	—
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	SSW 3	SSW 5	S 6	S 6	—	—	—	—	—	NNE 6	NE 5	ENE 3	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	NE 4	ENE 5	NE 6	NE 6
kJ	—	6	66	89	98	—	—	—	—	—	3	4	6	13	14	12	10	15	14	21	98	133	111
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Mntafufu Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Mdumbe Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Mbotyi Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	St Lucia KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Mtunzini KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Salt Rock KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Morgans Bay Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Mbotyi Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Salt Rock KZN North
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	3	2
Distance (km)	0	0	392	445	373	0	0	0	0	0	58	157	157	37	0	0	0	116	157	157	563	373	116
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast	Kosi Bay	Kosi Bay				Mapelane	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Kosi Bay			Umhlanga	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Kosi Bay	Sodwana				Umhlanga
Rating (10 max)	4	4				4	3	3	3	3	3			3	3	3	3	3	3				3
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Super Tubes Eastern Cape (S)	Hullets Reef Eastern Cape (S)	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Vleesbaai Overberg	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Hout Bay Cape Town	The Hoek Cape Town	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Vredenberg Point West Coast	Super Tubes Eastern Cape (S)	Gonubie Reef (The Lefts) Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Silwerstroom West Coast	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4
Header Global	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Ning Nong Point and Reef New Zealand	Ning Nong Point and Reef New Zealand	Last Chance New Zealand	Last Chance New Zealand	Loisell's New Zealand	Airport Rights New Zealand	Purakaunui Bay New Zealand	Asu Indonesia	Aganoa Beach Samoa	Aganoa Beach Samoa	Benkunqut Indonesia	Chameau Mauritius	Sea Vista South Africa	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Gas Bay Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cobblestones Australia	Cow Bombie Australia	Cathedral Rock Australia	Viri Inga O Tuki Chile
Rating (10 max)	5	7	6	5	5	5	4	5	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	5	5	5	7	7

Map Icons:
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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 (20 Jul):

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