Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 11 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 17 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 6s period, SSE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 17 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 9s period, SSE swell with 82 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 17 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 6s period with SSE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Croatan this week:
The surf forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 17) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 6s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 0.7m 9s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 17) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 4s period and expected on Monday (Aug 17) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Mon 17th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Mon 17th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Mon 17th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright crew, Rusty here again, but in feet and knots for the imperial heads. Let's break down Croatan over the next couple weeks. Gotta be honest, it’s a whole lot of nothing with a little blip at the tail end.
We are looking at a long dry spell from Tuesday the 11th through Saturday the 22nd of August. Tiny waves, mostly under 2-3 feet, with short periods and winds that are either onshore or cross-shore and choppy. For about 11 days straight, it’s poor. There’s a bump in energy on Tuesday the 18th, but it’s onshore and messy, so not worth a second look.
Finally, on Sunday the 23rd of August, the wind goes glassy in the morning. We get small waist-high waves at about 2 feet from the SE with a short period. The surface will be like butter, so for a tiny, clean morning session, it’s the best we’ve seen in a while. Expect a few others with the same idea.
The real standout is Monday the 24th of August. Morning brings a clean cross-offshore breeze from the SW, with 2-foot SE swell and a bit more period. It’s still small and weak, but the conditions will be clean and fun for a groveler or a longboard. Crowds are likely, but it’s the cleanest wave in the whole 16-day window. Water temp is about average for the season.
For beginners, those tiny 1-2 foot days are fine for getting wet, but don’t expect any power. The experienced crew won’t find anything over 5 feet the whole run, so it’s strictly small-wave gear.
Bottom line: wait until the 23rd. Sunday glassy or Monday clean are your only real windows for a decent paddle. It’s small, but sometimes that’s what summer gives us.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Tue morning. Warm (max 32°C on Tue afternoon, min 22°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Fri morning. Warm (max 29°C on Fri afternoon, min 22°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 3 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | NE 5 | SSE 4 | SE 4 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | NE 5 | NE 5 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | S 5 | SSE 6 | SSE 9 | SSE 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 52 | 26 | 82 | 60 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | off | on | cross |
High Tide | 7:27PM1.31m | 7:52AM1.12m | 8:17PM1.30m | 8:44AM1.17m | 9:05PM1.27m | 9:33AM1.21m | 9:50PM1.21m | 10:21AM1.21m | 10:33PM1.13m | 11:07AM1.20m | 11:16PM1.04m | 11:53AM1.16m | 11:58PM0.95m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:59PM-0.07m | 1:52AM-0.04m | 1:56PM-0.09m | 2:39AM-0.07m | 2:48PM-0.08m | 3:23AM-0.08m | 3:38PM-0.04m | 4:05AM-0.06m | 4:28PM0.02m | 4:47AM-0.02m | 5:19PM0.10m | 5:30AM0.05m | 6:10PM0.17m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  |  |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 6:16 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — |
 | — | 8:00 | — | — | 7:59 | — | — | 7:57 | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | 7:52 | — |
mm | 2 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 4 | 8 |
Temp °C | 27 | 32 | 31 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 29 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 30 | 33 | 27 |
Feels °C | 30 | 35 | 33 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 26 | 33 | 34 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 32 | 36 | 31 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SSE 3 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | SE 3 | SSE 3 | ENE 5 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | NE 5 | NE 5 | ENE 5 | NE 6 | SSE 6 | ESE 9 | SSE 6 |
| kJ | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 8 | 60 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 7 | E 9 | E 7 | E 12 | SSE 7 | SSE 6 | ESE 8 | — | NE 5 | ESE 9 | — | NE 4 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 6 | — | 1 | 8 | — | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | E 8 | SE 6 | E 8 | E 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 6 | NE 5 | — | E 7 | E 12 | E 8 | E 12 | ESE 8 | SE 5 | — | — | — | — | E 18 |
| kJ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 6 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | NW 4 | N 4 | SE 3 | SSE 4 | SE 4 | SW 2 | W 3 | NNW 3 | NE 3 | NE 4 | NE 5 | SE 3 | — | SSE 4 | S 5 | SW 4 | SSE 9 | SSE 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 20 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 19 | 1 | — | 14 | 52 | 6 | 82 | 28 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1365 | 2696 | 1365 | 1142 | 1664 | 242 | 1365 | 2865 | 356 | 2065 | 178 | 374 | 356 | 540 | 540 | 882 | 967 | 882 | 78 | 263 | 252 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Virginia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
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)
Latest Updates
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 Croatan 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 Croatan Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Croatan provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Croatan can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Croatan 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 (Croatan) 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 Croatan 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.
Croatan is 7 km (4 miles) from the city of Virginia Beach. If you plan a vacation in Virginia, look for hotels and other accommodation in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest