Croatan Surf Break

Lat Long: 36.79° N 75.96° W

Croatan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 7 pm 26 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Croatan sea temperature is
24.3° C
1.6° 

Croatan surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Croatan surf forecast from 27 Jul 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Monday 3 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 8s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Monday 3 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 8s period, SE swell with 205 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 29 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 7s 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 29) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.2m 8s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 03) 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 1.4m 5s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM.

Wave TypeTime (EDT) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 5AM (Wed 29th Jul)4.5ft (1.3m) 7s
Best Surf 2AM (Mon 3rd Aug)4ft (1.2m) 8s
Most Powerful 2AM (Mon 3rd Aug)4ft (1.2m) 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 on the cards for our local stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be honest with you – it's a pretty grim outlook for the next couple of weeks. We're looking at a long stretch of flat, weak, and messy conditions. The first decent opportunity doesn't pop up until early August, so we're talking about a solid week of nothing worth getting wet for.

Croatan

The only spot on the radar is Croatan, and even then, it's a struggle. For the first several days, it's all poor surf with tiny, weak waves. The energy is just pathetic, barely registering on the scale. You'll see a bit of a pulse on the 2nd of August with a 4ft swell from the SSE, but the period is a short, weak 5 seconds, so it's all crumble and no punch. The combined energy is only 71 – that's feeble.

The first real chance of something surfable, but still very ordinary, arrives on the morning of Monday the 3rd of August. The swell is a modest 3ft from the SE with an 8-second period, but the big positive here is the offshore wind from the WSW. That's a clean, lined-up look for a beach break, even if the combined energy is only 97. That's a 'surfable but very ordinary' call, and I'd agree. It's a small window for a beginner or a longboarder to get a few slow, clean ones. Don't expect any power.

The cleanest conditions of the whole 16 days might actually be the glassy mornings on the 4th and 5th of August, but again, the swell is tiny. 1ft to 2ft with a 7-second period just isn't going to push you around. The water temp is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year, nothing unusual.

Later in the run, around the 9th and 10th of August, we see the combined energy bump up to 113 and 116 – that's moderate energy – but it comes with onshore wind and heavy rain. The swell is short period and messy, so it's a miss. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days with the cross-onshore chop.

Honestly, if you're desperate for a paddle, the morning of the 3rd of August is your best bet. It's small, it's weak, but it'll be clean. Otherwise, keep the board in the shed and wait for the next system.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Heavy rain (total 23mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 28°C on Tue afternoon, min 21°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Warm (max 29°C on Sat afternoon, min 23°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.

Monday
27
Tuesday
28
Wednesday
29
Thursday
30
Friday
31
Saturday
1
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.4
ESE
8
0.4
ESE
8
0.4
ESE
8
0.4
ESE
8
0.4
ESE
8
0.4
ESE
8
0.2
ENE
6
0.7
SE
7
0.5
SE
7
0.5
SE
7
0.5
SE
8
0.4
SE
8
0.4
SE
8
0.4
SE
8
0.6
NE
6
0.4
NE
6
0.4
NE
6
0.9
SE
4
0.8
SSE
4
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
23
22
22
19
21
21
4
54
24
27
28
20
21
20
21
11
11
21
20
Wind (km/h)
10
SSW
10
S
10
SSE
10
SW
10
SSW
20
S
20
SW
20
NNW
10
NNW
10
WSW
15
NNW
0
ENE
10
SW
10
N
10
ESE
10
SSW
10
S
20
SSE
15
S
Wind State
cross-off
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
glassy
cross-off
cross
on
cross-off
cross-off
cross-on
cross
High Tide
6:56AM0.81m
7:20PM1.10m
7:40AM0.86m
8:00PM1.12m
8:21AM0.91m
8:39PM1.13m
9:02AM0.95m
9:17PM1.12m
9:42AM0.99m
9:55PM1.11m
10:21AM1.02m
10:33PM1.08m
Low Tide
1:06AM0.17m
12:48PM0.16m
1:45AM0.13m
1:34PM0.13m
2:22AM0.09m
2:17PM0.11m
2:57AM0.06m
2:58PM0.10m
3:32AM0.03m
3:40PM0.11m
4:08AM0.02m
4:22PM0.12m
4:45AM0.02m
rain showers
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
part cloud
part cloud
thunderstorm
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
clear
cloud
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:05
6:05
6:05
6:07
6:07
6:09
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
8:15
8:15
8:14
8:13
8:12
8:10
8:09
 mm
2
4
4
2
11
2
Temp °C
23
25
27
27
26
28
25
25
27
26
24
28
25
25
27
25
26
29
27
Feels °C
23
27
28
30
28
29
24
25
28
28
22
28
25
25
28
26
28
29
27
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Croatan:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest