Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 9 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 8s period, ENE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 13 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 7s period, ENE swell with 383 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 9 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 8s period with ENE 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 Thursday (Jul 09) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 0.8m and 4s is also forecast. 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 2.0m 7s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 13) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 4s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 16) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Thu 9th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Thu 9th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Mon 13th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks.
Honestly, it’s a pretty grim run for the foreseeable future. We’re looking at a long stretch of tiny, weak, and mostly messy surf. The first real chance we get is Friday morning, July 10th, but it’s nothing to get excited about.
The overall pattern is small, with a lot of cross-onshore wind messing up what little energy there is. The swell is mostly short-period, wind-driven junk, and even the cleaner windows are ridiculously small. For the first solid week, the best you’ll find is small, weak waves. There’s a pulse of more energy from the 12th through the 14th, but it comes with strong onshore or cross-onshore winds, making it a total chop-fest. That energy is moderate (279 - 365), but the quality is shot.
For a spot on the east coast, the water temp is about average for the time of year.
The only break in the game is Croatan, a beach/jetty setup that’s exposed to the swell. It’s a beginner-friendly spot, and it’s fairly consistent, but that doesn’t mean much when the conditions are this poor.
Let’s call out the only real window of opportunity. Friday morning, July 10th is your best bet. We’ve got a tiny 1 ft swell coming from the SSE, but the key is a gentle offshore wind from the W. It’ll be clean and glassy, but the waves are tiny. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.
From Saturday, July 11th through Thursday, July 17th, the story is mostly messy, choppy, or just plain tiny. There’s a small window on Wednesday morning, July 15th with a bit of a clean-up, but it’s still only 3 ft and weak. The bigger swell from the 12th to the 14th is a write-off due to strong onshore winds, making it a kite-surfing kind of setup rather than a paddle-surfing one.
The second week, from the 18th onward, is even more of a letdown. The swell drops right off again, with heights barely cracking 2 ft. It’s weak and inconsistent, with most days offering nothing.
The bottom line: There’s no standout swell here. The best you’ll get is a tiny, clean wave on Friday morning, July 10th. If you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your window. For the rest of the 16 days, it’s a long, quiet spell. Keep an eye on the charts, because it can’t stay this poor for long.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Warm (max 33°C on Thu night, min 23°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 22mm), heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 25°C on Sat night, min 23°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (light winds from the SW on Sat night, fresh winds from the ENE by Mon afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wed 15 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | SE 9 | NE 8 | SSE 5 | SSE 7 | ENE 7 | SSE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 9 | ENE 4 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 7 | E 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 22 | 64 | 29 | 32 | 21 | 11 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 266 | 188 | 319 | 365 | 300 | 323 | 253 | 142 | 88 | 48 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | off | off | cross-on | cross-off | off | cross-on | off | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on |
High Tide | 3:00AM0.86m | 3:43PM1.15m | 4:05AM0.86m | 4:45PM1.21m | 5:10AM0.88m | 5:46PM1.27m | 6:12AM0.92m | 6:44PM1.32m | 7:11AM0.97m | 7:40PM1.34m | 8:07AM1.02m | 8:34PM1.34m | 9:02AM1.07m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:14PM0.13m | 9:12AM-0.01m | 10:16PM0.09m | 10:09AM-0.02m | 11:19PM0.05m | 11:09AM-0.05m | 00:21AM-0.00m | 12:10PM-0.09m | 1:19AM-0.05m | 1:10PM-0.12m | 2:12AM-0.10m | 2:07PM-0.14m | 3:02AM-0.12m | 3:02PM-0.13m | |||||||
 | |  |  | | |  | |  |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:56 | — |
 | 8:24 | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 24 | 28 | 31 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 28 |
Feels °C | 26 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 32 | 34 | 31 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 29 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 6 | NE 8 | NE 8 | SSE 5 | SSE 7 | ENE 7 | SSE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | — | — | — | — | — | E 8 | E 7 | E 7 |
| kJ | 18 | 31 | 29 | 32 | 21 | 11 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | 142 | 88 | 48 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | E 11 | SE 9 | NE 7 | NE 7 | SSE 7 | ENE 9 | NE 7 | ESE 9 | ENE 7 | ESE 9 | S 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 22 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 11 | SE 9 | E 11 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | E 9 | E 8 | SE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 2 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 4 | SE 9 | SE 4 | SW 2 | WSW 3 | SW 3 | W 3 | — | — | ESE 3 | ENE 4 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | — | — | SSE 3 |
| kJ | 2 | 64 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 20 | 266 | 188 | 319 | 365 | 300 | 323 | 253 | — | — | 3 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 16 | 145 | 753 | 0 | 0 | 137 | 137 | 138 | 1231 | 138 | 242 | 1129 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 255 | 2696 | 137 | 0 | 178 |
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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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