Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 22 Jul, 5PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 8s period, SE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 28 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 7s period, SSE swell with 187 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 22 Jul, 5PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 8s period with SE 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 5PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 8s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.5m 7s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 8PM. 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 5s period and expected on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 5PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 8PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s get into it. This is Rusty, and I’m staring down the next couple of weeks at Croatan. Honestly, for the most part, it’s looking pretty flat and ordinary. The first week and a half is a real struggle bus, with a whole lot of small, choppy, or just straight-up poor surf. We’re talking tiny 1.0ft to 2ft swells, mostly short-period windswell, and a lot of cross-shore or cross-onshore wind. The combined energy is weak, barely cracking 100 for most of that run. The water temp is about what you’d expect for this time of year, nothing wild.
The only real glimmer in the first week comes on Saturday morning, July 25th. The wind goes completely glassy, 0 mph, and the water turns to glass. Swell is only 3ft from the NE, short period at 5 seconds, but it’s surfable. That’s the best of a bad lot.
Then we hit a dry spell of nearly a week with nothing worth mentioning until August 1st. Saturday morning, August 1st, we get a clean little pulse from the ENE. The swell is just 3ft, period of 8 seconds, but the wind is light and cross-off. The combined energy climbs to 117, so there’s a bit more push. It’s a true early-morning glass-off session for the patient.
But the real standout, what you’re waiting for, is the first week of August. Tuesday, August 4th, starts to fire. The swell builds to 6ft from the SE on Tuesday morning (combined energy 434), and then Tuesday afternoon it jumps to 8ft from the SE with a cross-off wind from the SW. The combined energy is a healthy 717. That’s solid, punchy surf. It’s right on the edge of being too big for beginners, but for the experienced crew, it’s going to be a proper session. By Wednesday morning, August 5th, we get a clean 5ft from the SSE with offshore wind from the WNW, and combined energy at 404. That’s your pick of the whole run. The swell direction from the SSE matches the optimum for Croatan, and the offshore wind will have it reeling. Just keep in mind the swell period is short (8 seconds), so it’ll be a bit sectiony and a bit more of a paddle fight than a long-period groundswell.
The rest of that second week is a mix of cross-on choppy conditions or small surf, so get out there on the 4th and 5th. That’s your window.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 53mm), heaviest during Wed night. Warm (max 30°C on Tue night, min 21°C on Thu morning). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SSW on Tue night, light winds from the W by Wed night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sat morning. Warm (max 27°C on Mon afternoon, min 21°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | ||||||||||||||
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 7 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | NE 5 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 196 | 133 | 64 | 86 | 59 | 66 | 50 | 34 | 44 | 45 | 53 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 22 | 19 | 60 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross | cross | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 2:11AM0.79m | 3:05PM1.03m | 3:08AM0.74m | 4:02PM1.02m | 4:12AM0.72m | 4:58PM1.03m | 5:15AM0.73m | 5:50PM1.05m | 6:09AM0.76m | 6:37PM1.08m | 6:56AM0.81m | 7:20PM1.10m | |||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 11:58AM0.18m | 1:06AM0.17m | 12:48PM0.16m | 1:45AM0.13m | ||||||
 |  | |  |  |  |  |  | | |  | | |  | |  | | |  | |
 | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — |
 | 8:19 | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — |
mm | 5 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 |
Temp °C | 30 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 25 |
Feels °C | 30 | 26 | 25 | 28 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 23 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 |
| kJ | — | 133 | 64 | 86 | 59 | 13 | 18 | 34 | 31 | 45 | 36 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 19 | 33 | 22 | 19 | 12 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | W 3 | — | — | SE 8 | SSE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 5 | — | — | — | — | ESE 8 | NE 6 | NE 5 | ENE 5 | NE 5 |
| kJ | — | — | 1 | — | — | 15 | 6 | 27 | 44 | 18 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | NW 5 | — | NNE 3 | — | — | — | SSE 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | WSW 4 | — | — | NNE 4 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | — | — | SW 3 | S 3 | S 6 |
| kJ | 196 | 15 | — | — | 7 | 66 | 50 | 32 | 27 | 25 | 53 | 30 | 20 | 25 | — | — | 2 | 8 | 60 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 175 | 217 | 0 | 0 | 255 | 165 | 106 | 138 | 138 | 165 | 0 | 0 | 242 | 242 | 878 | 0 | 78 | 1260 | 299 |
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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