Richards Bay (Outside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 28.80° S 32.10° E

Issued: 7 am 17 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Richards Bay (Outside) sea temperature is

22.2° 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 (17 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (17 Jul, local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 10s period with ESE swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (17 Jul, local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 10s period with ESE swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (17 Jul, local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 10s period with ESE swell.

The current surf forecast for Richards Bay (Outside) at 12PM is: 1.0m 10s primary swell from a East-southeast direction and 0.4m 7s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 07:00am July 17). The wind direction is predicted to be glassy and the swell rating is 2.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (17 Jul)	3.5ft (1.1m)	10s
Afternoon (17 Jul)	3.5ft (1.0m)	10s
Evening (17 Jul)	3ft (0.9m)	10s

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

	Short Range Forecast Mostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Fri afternoon, min 16°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light.
	Friday 17							Saturday 18								Sunday 19
	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	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	2	1	2	2	2
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	S 13	S 12	S 11	S 11	ESE 10	S 13	S 13	SSE 14	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 11	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12
Wave Graph
kJ	245	245	205	205	205	166	157	154	168	180	198	146	125	126	339	250	432	706	430	787	680	748	723
Wind (km/h)	N	N	N	SE	S	WSW	W	W	WNW	NW	NNE	ENE	ENE	N	W	SW	SW	SW	SSW	SSE	SSE	SSW	SW
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-off	cross-off	glassy	on	cross-on	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	off	off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-off	cross	cross-on	on	cross	cross
High Tide						5:59PM1.95m				6:08AM1.81m				6:36PM1.87m				6:43AM1.71m				7:13PM1.75m
Low Tide				11:40AM0.02m				00:04AM0.19m				12:16PM0.10m				00:42AM0.29m				12:52PM0.21m


	6:43	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:41	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	5:12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:13	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:13	—	—
mm	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	17	17	21	23	20	19	18	17	17	16	20	23	22	21	20	19	18	18	20	21	20	19	19
Feels °C	17	17	21	23	21	20	18	18	18	16	20	22	21	21	20	20	17	18	20	21	20	19	19
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	S 11	ESE 10	ESE 10	ESE 10	S 13	S 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 11	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12	SSE 12
kJ	245	245	205	205	205	166	157	154	157	157	198	125	125	94	339	221	432	706	430	787	680	748	723
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 8	S 7	S 7	S 13	SSW 9	S 12	SSW 9	S 14	S 13	S 12	ESE 10	S 11	S 10	S 10	E 9	SSE 14	E 10	E 10	SE 14	E 10	E 10	E 10	E 10
kJ	45	24	14	82	26	72	25	101	168	180	128	146	96	89	87	250	88	88	379	71	71	70	71
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SSW 14	SSW 13	SSW 13	S 10	SSW 12	SW 14	SSW 15	—	—	S 16	S 15	SSE 15	S 14	S 13	ENE 3	E 9	SE 15	SSW 12	E 10	S 15	SSW 11	E 10	NE 6
kJ	40	35	57	2	29	33	42	—	—	5	40	72	101	126	1	87	229	145	88	4	91	94	1
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	ENE 2	NE 3	—	—	SW 2	—	—	—	—	—	—
kJ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	2	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	3
Distance (km)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	157	157	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Alkantstrand	Alkantstrand	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)			Richards Bay (Outside)	Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Kosi Bay	Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Mapelane	Alkantstrand	Mapelane	Mapelane
Rating (10 max)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2			2	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Cintsa East Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Hout Bay Cape Town	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Vleesbaai Overberg	Warner Beach Durban/KZN South	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Ntylonyane (Breezy Point) Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Outer Pool Garden Route	Super Tubes Eastern Cape (S)
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Header Global	Easter Reef Australia	Albatross South Africa	Easter Reef Australia	Dunedin - Kuri Bush New Zealand	Dunedin - Kuri Bush New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Seconds (White Rock) New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Charleston New Zealand	Dunedin - Bobs Beach New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand	Otago Peninsula - Allans Beach New Zealand
Rating (10 max)	6	4	5	6	7	6	6	9	9	8	9	8	5	5	7	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	7

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 (17 Jul):

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