Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 19 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 22 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 8s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 22 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 8s period, SSE swell with 226 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 22 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 8s 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 Wednesday (Jul 22) at 2PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.4m 8s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 4s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 2PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for the next couple of weeks.
Alright, I gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are lookin’ pretty flat for Croatan. There’s a real dry spell on the cards. The first week and a half, from this Sunday all the way through to the end of July, is mostly a write-off. You’ll be staring at ankle-to-knee-high slop for days on end, with very little energy in the water. The combined swell energy is mostly in the weak to moderate range, with values like 26, 28, 56, and rarely hitting 142 or 259 (moderate wave energy). Just nothin’ to get out of bed for.
The only real glimpse of anything rideable comes on Saturday, July 25th, into the early hours of Sunday, July 26th. The best window is Saturday afternoon, with a tiny 2ft swell from the ESE, a period of 7 seconds, and a clean offshore wind from the WNW at 9 mph. It’s not gonna win any awards, but it’s likely the cleanest you’ll see all week. The waves are small, but the offshore wind will keep ‘em tidy. The next morning, Sunday July 26th, is also glassy – a light northerly breeze at 3 mph, with 2ft from the ESE. The water temp is about average for the time of year, hovering around 80°F with a normal anomaly.
Come Thursday, July 31st, there’s a little bump in size – 3ft from the ENE, but with a short period of 5 seconds. That’s more of a windswell, and it’s coming in with a light cross-offshore breeze from the WNW. It’s clean, but again, the energy is low (82). It’s surfable, but very ordinary.
Look, this run is pretty typical for a lull period. The swell is just not there. For the crew that are desperate, the Saturday afternoon window on July 25th and the glassy Sunday morning on July 26th are your best shots. The combined energy is weak (56 and 45), so don’t expect much push. The rest of the 16 days is a lot of waiting.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 82mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 32°C on Tue afternoon, min 22°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (calm on Mon morning, fresh winds from the SSW by Tue night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Warm (max 29°C on Wed afternoon, min 23°C on Thu afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Sun 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | ||||||||||||||
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 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 4 | SE 7 | S 5 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 7 | NE 6 | NE 5 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | E 7 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 23 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 55 | 226 | 140 | 80 | 91 | 102 | 133 | 65 | 64 | 51 | 59 | 56 | 36 | 87 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-off | on | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | off | off |
High Tide | 00:34AM0.96m | 1:19PM1.08m | 1:21AM0.87m | 2:10PM1.05m | 2:11AM0.79m | 3:05PM1.03m | 3:08AM0.74m | 4:02PM1.02m | 4:12AM0.72m | 4:58PM1.03m | 5:15AM0.73m | 5:50PM1.05m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:44PM0.11m | 6:58AM0.03m | 7:42PM0.17m | 7:44AM0.09m | 8:39PM0.22m | 8:30AM0.13m | 9:36PM0.24m | 9:18AM0.17m | 10:33PM0.25m | 10:10AM0.20m | 11:29PM0.24m | 11:04AM0.20m | 00:21AM0.21m | |||||||
 |  | | | |  | | | | | |  | |  |  | | |  | |  | |
 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — |
 | 8:20 | — | — | 8:20 | — | — | 8:19 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — |
mm | 3 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 38 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 30 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 32 | 27 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 20 |
Feels °C | 32 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 27 | 31 | 27 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 4 | SE 7 | NE 4 | — | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 7 | SE 8 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 |
| kJ | 23 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 1 | — | 140 | 80 | 91 | 102 | 96 | 15 | 64 | 51 | 59 | 56 | 36 | 48 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 13 | NE 3 | NE 4 | E 12 | SSE 5 | ENE 4 | — | — | S 5 | — | — | NNE 4 | NNE 5 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | — | SSE 6 | S 6 | S 7 | NE 6 |
| kJ | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 2 | — | — | 8 | 30 | 15 | 37 | — | 10 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 12 | SSE 4 | E 12 | SE 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 8 | SE 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSW 2 | — | ENE 4 | S 3 | SSW 4 | S 5 | SSE 8 | SW 4 | SSW 4 | SW 3 | — | NE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 4 | ENE 4 | NE 4 | NE 4 | E 7 |
| kJ | — | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | 19 | 55 | 226 | 23 | 12 | 7 | — | 133 | 65 | 58 | 29 | 35 | 21 | 16 | 87 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 292 | 165 | 138 | 1265 | 799 | 913 | 1132 | 210 | 0 | 165 | 255 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 434 | 385 | 242 | 176 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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