Richards Bay (Outside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 28.80° S 32.10° E

Issued: 1 am 23 Oct 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Richards Bay (Outside) sea temperature is

22.6°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 (23 Oct):

Morning surf: Morning surf (23 Oct, local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 6s period with S swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (23 Oct, local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 10s period with S swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (23 Oct, local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period with S swell.

The current surf forecast for Richards Bay (Outside) at 5AM is: 0.8m 12s primary swell from a South direction and 0.6m 10s secondary swell from a Southeast direction, 1.0m 5s secondary swell from a South direction (forecast issued at 01:00am October 23). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (23 Oct)	5ft (1.6m)	6s
Afternoon (23 Oct)	6ft (1.8m)	10s
Evening (23 Oct)	5ft (1.6m)	10s

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

	Short Range Forecast Light rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Fri morning. Warm (max 32°C on Sun afternoon, min 19°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (calm on Fri night, fresh winds from the SW by Sun night).
	Friday 23								Saturday 24								Sunday 25
	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)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	4	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 12	S 12	S 6	S 11	S 10	S 11	S 10	S 14	S 14	S 13	S 13	S 12	S 12	S 12	S 12	S 11	S 11	S 11	SSE 10	S 10	S 10	S 10	SSW 5	SSW 6
Wave Graph
kJ	193	180	185	326	722	649	543	970	1033	987	839	581	413	336	221	205	149	146	78	100	98	192	108	341
Wind (km/h)	S	S	SSW	SSW	SSW	S	S	SSE	NE	NNE	NNE	NE	NE	NE	NNE	NNE	NNE	NNE	N	NNE	NE	SSW	SW	SW
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	cross-on	glassy	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross-off	cross	cross	cross	cross
High Tide	1:50AM1.59m					2:07PM1.79m				2:22AM1.74m				2:37PM1.95m				2:53AM1.86m				3:08PM2.05m
Low Tide			7:52AM0.32m					8:17PM0.25m				8:22AM0.17m				8:47PM0.10m				8:54AM0.06m				9:18PM0.00m


	—	5:07	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:05	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:05	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	—	—	—	6:05	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:05	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6:06	—	—
mm	1	2	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	1
Temp °C	21	20	20	20	20	21	21	20	20	19	21	24	25	22	21	21	20	20	23	31	32	22	21	20
Feels °C	21	19	17	17	17	18	19	20	21	18	19	20	21	19	18	19	17	17	20	28	30	19	18	17
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	S 12	S 12	SE 10	S 11	SE 9	SE 9	S 10	S 14	S 14	S 13	S 13	S 12	S 12	S 12	S 12	S 11	S 11	S 11	SSE 10	S 10	ENE 7	ENE 8	ENE 8	ENE 8
kJ	193	180	45	326	39	41	543	970	1033	987	839	581	413	336	221	205	149	146	78	100	214	196	113	45
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 9	SE 10	E 8	SE 10	E 8	E 8	SE 9	SE 9	SE 9	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	S 10	SE 10	SE 10	SSE 9
kJ	54	57	20	33	11	11	31	31	31	33	47	36	36	35	33	34	36	27	28	24	98	16	25	29
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	E 8	E 8	NNE 7	E 8	NE 7	NE 7	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	E 8	—	—	—	—	—	SE 10	SSW 10	SE 10	SE 10	SSW 11	—	SE 9
kJ	19	19	5	21	2	2	11	10	10	10	10	12	—	—	—	—	—	16	21	16	25	75	—	14
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SE 5	S 5	S 6	S 7	S 10	S 11	—	—	—	NE 7	NNE 7	ENE 4	ENE 5	ENE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 6	NE 7	NE 7	S 10	SSW 5	SSW 6
kJ	33	53	185	230	722	649	—	—	—	8	5	14	70	178	143	116	114	111	122	135	569	192	108	341
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Alkantstrand KZN North	The Spot Durban/KZN South	Dairy Beach (New Pier) Durban/KZN South	Dairy Beach (New Pier) Durban/KZN South	Onrus Overberg	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Alkantstrand KZN North	Richards Bay (Inside) KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Flat Rocks (Port Elizabeth) Eastern Cape (S)	Whispering Waves Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Salt Rock KZN North	Salt Rock KZN North	Salt Rock KZN North	Reunion Durban/KZN South	Whispering Waves Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Whispering Waves Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Mapelane KZN North	Lwandile Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Dairy Beach (New Pier) Durban/KZN South
Rating (10 max)	2	4	1	1	4	4	3	3	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1
Distance (km)	0	208	155	155	1373	1057	0	0	0	0	157	839	559	157	157	116	116	116	157	559	559	55	440	155
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast	Alkantstrand						Alkantstrand	Mapelane	Richards Bay (Outside)	Richards Bay (Outside)						Umhlanga	Umhlanga	Umhlanga				St Lucia
Rating (10 max)	2						3	3	4	4						2	2	3				2
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Paranoia Overberg	J-Bay Eastern Cape (S)	Vleesbaai Overberg	Bruces Beauties Eastern Cape (S)	Bettys Bay Overberg	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Goukamma River Mouth Garden Route	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gonubie Reef (The Lefts) Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Hullets Reef Eastern Cape (S)	Barbel Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Warner Beach Durban/KZN South	Warner Beach Durban/KZN South	Warner Beach Durban/KZN South	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Barbel Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Leftovers Eastern Cape (S)	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast
Rating (10 max)	4	5	4	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	2	1	2	2	2
Header Global	Krui Indonesia	Benkunqut Indonesia	Bawa Indonesia	Cavalos de Fao Portugal	Benkunqut Indonesia	Bali Village Indonesia	Bali Village Indonesia	Benkunqut Indonesia	Benkunqut Indonesia	Deba Spain	Deba Spain	Trial Harbour Australia	Purakaunui Bay New Zealand	Purakaunui Bay New Zealand	Outside Corner Indonesia	Niyodo Rivermouth Japan	Afife Portugal	El Huerto Spain	El Huerto Spain	Deba Spain	Rio Nexpa Mexico	Playa de la Cagonera Spain	La Nora Spain	Deba Spain
Rating (10 max)	6	5	5	6	5	5	5	5	5	6	5	5	6	5	5	5	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

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)

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Richards Bay (Outside) 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at Richards Bay (Outside) today (23 Oct):

Short Range Forecast

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