Surf Forecasts:
Riet River surf forecast from 8 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 10 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 15s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 13 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 17s period, SSW swell with 1,915 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 10 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 15s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Riet River this week:
The surf forecast for Riet River over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 10) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 15s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Riet River in the next 16 days are 1.8m 17s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 13) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.4m 10s period and expected on Monday (Sep 14) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Thu 10th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 15s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Thu 10th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Sun 13th Sep) | 6ft (1.8m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Riet River over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, and I’m looking at the outlook for Riet River. This is a tricky one, boys and girls. We’ve got a long, lean start ahead before things get interesting.
Right off the bat, Tuesday the 8th of September starts with a bit of a tease. The morning is glassy, with a clean 4ft swell rolling in from the S. The water’s sitting at 63°, which is 4° colder than normal for this time of year – you’ll feel that bite, so a thicker suit is a good call. The combined energy is moderate (485), and it’s a solid 12-second period, so there’s some shape to it. For a few hours, it looks like the best we’ve got for a while. But don’t blink – the afternoon onshore wind turns it to junk, and we’re looking at a long dry spell after that.
From Tuesday afternoon all the way through to the end of the month, the wind just gets ugly. We get days and days of onshore slop, with winds cranking up to 25 mph or more. The swell tries to push through, but the conditions are just not cooperating. It’s a frustrating gap of almost two weeks where the surf quality is a write-off. Even when the swell energy gets big, like Sunday the 13th of September with a 6ft SSW swell and strong energy (1565), the wind is straight onshore and messy.
Then, finally, the turning point comes on Friday the 18th of September. That afternoon is the standout of the entire 16-day window. We’ve got glassy conditions, the wind dies to nothing, and the swell is a proper 15ft from the SSE. The combined energy is through the roof at 4434 – that is strong, serious power. It’s an 11-second period, so it’s not super long, but with that much size, it’s a powerful, heavy wave. This is only for experienced surfers, no doubt about it. The water temp has come up slightly by then, but still colder than usual.
If you can wait it out, that Friday the 18th afternoon at Riet River is the real deal. The point should handle that SSE swell nicely, but with that much juice, expect it to be a handful. The rest of the month stays big, but the wind often spoils the party. That afternoon window is the one to circle on the calendar.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 32°C on Wed morning, min 17°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NE on Tue morning, fresh winds from the WSW by Thu morning). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Warm (max 23°C on Sun afternoon, min 17°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the ENE on Sat night, calm by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | |||||||||||||||
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) | S 12 | SSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 17 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 17 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SW 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 347 | 230 | 144 | 97 | 118 | 172 | 136 | 486 | 947 | 613 | 502 | 361 | 231 | 621 | 1915 | 1346 | 1114 | 624 | 447 | 237 | 169 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | on | on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | on | cross-on | off |
High Tide | 2:15PM1.43m | 2:29AM1.45m | 2:52PM1.60m | 3:05AM1.55m | 3:25PM1.71m | 3:38AM1.60m | 3:57PM1.77m | 4:09AM1.62m | 4:27PM1.77m | 4:39AM1.59m | 4:55PM1.71m | 5:07AM1.53m | 5:22PM1.62m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:01AM0.27m | 8:26PM0.24m | 8:38AM0.13m | 9:04PM0.12m | 9:12AM0.03m | 9:37PM0.03m | 9:42AM-0.03m | 10:08PM-0.00m | 10:12AM-0.04m | 10:37PM0.01m | 10:40AM-0.00m | 11:05PM0.06m | 11:07AM0.07m | 11:31PM0.14m | |||||||
 | |  | | | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:13 | — | — |
 | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:59 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 28 | 29 | 25 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
Feels °C | 27 | 27 | 23 | 30 | 30 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 21 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 8 | SSW 12 | SW 12 | ENE 9 | SSW 14 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 14 | SSW 17 | SSW 15 | E 8 | E 8 | SSW 13 | E 8 | E 10 |
| kJ | 422 | 230 | 144 | 366 | 118 | 436 | 260 | 227 | 947 | 613 | 502 | 361 | 231 | 621 | 1915 | 1346 | 336 | 346 | 447 | 610 | 1129 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 12 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 17 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | S 9 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | ESE 8 | SSW 12 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 347 | 77 | 86 | 97 | 57 | 172 | 136 | 486 | 185 | 149 | 108 | 40 | 36 | 21 | 12 | 56 | 1114 | 624 | 108 | 237 | 144 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SSE 12 | SSW 16 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SW 12 | SE 11 | SSW 5 | S 6 | SE 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 21 | SE 12 | SE 11 | S 8 | SSE 6 | SSE 10 | SSE 9 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 138 | 30 | 25 | 55 | 38 | 18 | 8 | 220 | 5 | 18 | 28 | 8 | 87 | 43 | 6 | 5 | 49 | 14 | 9 | 62 | 169 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | WSW 6 | SW 5 | SSW 5 | — | — | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | E 8 | E 8 | E 7 | — | E 8 | ENE 8 | W 2 | — |
| kJ | 675 | 376 | 389 | 656 | 374 | 579 | 166 | 58 | 30 | — | — | 98 | 372 | 504 | 332 | 392 | — | 443 | 253 | 1 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 135 | 61 | 4 | 135 | 5 | 190 | 123 | 20 | 135 | 331 | 161 | 135 | 206 | 161 | 369 | 369 | 96 | 161 | 161 | 61 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Eastern Cape (South) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Riet River 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 Riet River Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Riet River provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Riet River can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Riet River 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 (Riet River) 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 Riet River 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Eastern Cape (South)? If you are looking for accommodation near Riet River, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Eastern Cape (South), consider staying in Port Alfred which is 5 km (3 miles) away. Other places in and around Eastern Cape (South) where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Grahamstown which is 48 km (30 miles) away, Bisho and Fort Beaufort.
Nearest