Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 7 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 7 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 9s period, ESE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 13 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 5s period, E swell with 109 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 7 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 9s period with ESE 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 Tuesday (Jul 07) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.3m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 6s. Another secondary swell of 0.4m and 6s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.4m 5s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 13) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 2s period and expected on Friday (Jul 10) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Tue 7th Jul) | 1ft (0.3m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Tue 7th Jul) | 1ft (0.3m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Mon 13th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 5s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, let's talk Croatan in feet and degrees.
We’re looking at a long, lean couple of weeks. From Tuesday the 7th through to Friday morning the 10th, it’s basically flat. The swell is nothing—under 1 foot for days—with mostly onshore wind junk and no energy. Tuesday morning is dead glass but there’s no wave to ride. The combined swell energy on Tuesday is only (25), a flat calm.
Water temp is 79°, about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year, so a bit of a bath.
Friday the 10th morning is where we get the first real chance. We’ve got a clear sky, light offshore wind from the West, and a clean 2ft swell from the SE at 8 seconds. Small, but clean as a whistle. Energy is low at (55). The wave comment says "surfable but very ordinary" but that offshore wind makes it the best session of the early week. That afternoon stays clean with a cross-off breeze, but the swell drops to 1ft.
Then you’re back to onshore slop through the weekend until Monday the 13th morning. That brings a 4ft East swell at a weak 5 seconds, combined energy (103), but the wind is cross-onshore and choppy. Not inviting.
Wednesday the 15th morning shows another clean window. Offshore wind from the WSW at 15 mph, a clean 2ft Easterly swell at 7 seconds, low energy (43), but it’ll be tidy little waves. Still ordinary in size.
From there it’s mostly small and messy with onshore wind until Saturday the 18th. That Saturday morning is the big standout for the whole run. You get an offshore WSW breeze at 12 mph, a 3ft SE swell (8 sec), combined energy at (99)—clean and organized. Saturday afternoon the energy jumps to (125) with 3ft SSE swell but rain showers and cross-off wind. The morning is the one to aim for.
The rest of the run into the 22nd is small and choppy. The 22nd afternoon bumps up to 4ft from the SSE with energy at (175) but under t-storms and cross-off wind, so not the cleanest.
Overall, it’s a tough run. The cleanest small waves are Friday the 10th morning, Wednesday the 15th morning, and the best shot is Saturday the 18th morning. Crowds are often at Croatan, so on those clean days expect a lineup.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 26mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 30°C on Thu afternoon, min 23°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 46mm), heaviest during Sun night. Warm (max 33°C on Fri afternoon, min 23°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WNW on Fri afternoon, fresh winds from the SE by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | NE 6 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 4 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 10 | SE 10 | E 5 | E 5 | E 6 | ENE 5 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 18 | 18 | 24 | 38 | 53 | 59 | 48 | 50 | 32 | 31 | 23 | 25 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 24 | 82 | 93 | 77 | 23 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | on | glassy | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 1:48PM1.05m | 2:00AM0.89m | 2:43PM1.10m | 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 | ||||||||
Low Tide | 8:15PM0.16m | 8:19AM0.01m | 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 | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |  | | |
 | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — |
 | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:22 | — |
mm | — | 6 | 13 | — | — | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | 42 | — | 1 | 1 |
Temp °C | 29 | 28 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 33 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 23 |
Feels °C | 33 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 30 | 35 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 6 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 9 | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 4 | NE 5 | NE 4 | SE 8 | SE 10 | E 9 | — | SSE 5 | ESE 9 | SE 5 |
| kJ | 7 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 48 | 50 | 32 | 31 | 23 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 1 | — | 10 | 17 | 13 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 10 | SSE 6 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | E 10 | S 7 | SE 4 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | ENE 8 | NE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 4 | NE 6 | SE 10 | — | — | SSE 6 | SE 7 |
| kJ | 18 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 24 | — | — | 6 | 7 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 6 | NE 7 | E 10 | E 10 | E 12 | E 11 | ESE 9 | SSE 7 | ESE 8 | WNW 3 | E 10 | ESE 9 | ENE 7 | NE 7 | NE 6 | E 8 | E 9 | — | — | — | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 8 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | NE 6 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | — | SE 4 | SW 2 | NNW 3 | — | NE 4 | — | — | — | ESE 3 | E 3 | E 5 | E 5 | E 6 | ENE 5 |
| kJ | — | — | 24 | 38 | 53 | 59 | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | 25 | — | — | — | 2 | 11 | 82 | 93 | 77 | 23 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 138 | 1140 | 0 | 242 | 593 | 210 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 1365 | 176 | 176 | 799 | 0 | 79 | 176 | 242 |
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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