Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 22 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 7s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 22 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 7s period, S swell with 376 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 cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.9m 7s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 4s 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 | 11PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G'day, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you – this outlook for Croatan is a tough one. We're looking at a long, drawn-out period of very ordinary conditions, with only a couple of tiny windows where you might get a wet paddle.
The water temp is sitting at 80°, which is about a degree warmer than usual for this time of year, so it's a touch on the balmy side.
The first real chance of anything comes on Wednesday morning, July 22nd. We've got a small 3 ft swell from the SSE with a short period of 8 seconds and barely moderate energy (102). The wind is WSW offshore at 16 mph though, so it'll be clean and lined up for a beginner. It's surfable, but nothing to write home about. The afternoon drops off to 2 ft. Come Thursday, the 23rd, things turn ugly with poor conditions and cross-shore winds, and this sets the tone for a long stretch.
From Thursday the 23rd right through until Saturday the 2nd of August, it's a grim run. The swell is tiny, often under 2 ft, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-shore. You get a few glimmers of clean conditions on Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th with offshore or cross-offshore winds, but the swell is too weak to be any fun.
The only standout – and I use that term loosely – is the morning of Sunday the 2nd of August. We get a glassy, clean 2 ft swell from the SE with a period of 7 seconds, and moderate energy (63). It's a small window for a beginner log or a longboard, but that's about the best this break offers in the entire 16-day window. After that, it's back to small, onshore slop.
Honestly, this is a tough stretch for Croatan. It’s a long blank run of poor quality, and that's just the way the forecast sits. Keep an eye on it, but don't hold your breath.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 67mm), heaviest during Thu morning. Warm (max 27°C on Wed morning, min 22°C on Thu morning). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Warm (max 28°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 | Tuesday 28 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 5 | SE 7 | SE 8 | NE 5 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | SSE 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 93 | 62 | 129 | 60 | 21 | 16 | 34 | 25 | 37 | 53 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 23 | 28 | 22 | 19 | 25 | 57 | 82 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | on | cross-off | off | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 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 | 7:40AM0.86m | 8:00PM1.12m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 1:34PM0.13m | 2:22AM0.09m | |||||||
 | |  |  |  |  |  |  | |  | | | | |  |  | | | | | | |
 | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — |
 | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:14 | — |
mm | 5 | 5 | 29 | 26 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | — | — | 1 | — | 5 |
Temp °C | 27 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 35 | 30 |
Feels °C | 28 | 30 | 30 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 35 | 32 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ENE 5 | ESE 7 | NE 6 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | 93 | 62 | 129 | 60 | 18 | 13 | 34 | 25 | 20 | 33 | 33 | 25 | 34 | 33 | 23 | 28 | 22 | 19 | 25 | 57 | 82 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 5 | SW 4 | — | — | SE 8 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 5 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | ENE 5 | NE 5 | ESE 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 |
| kJ | 9 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 37 | 53 | 35 | 34 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WSW 4 | — | — | — | SE 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NE 6 | — | NE 8 |
| kJ | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 4 | W 3 | WSW 4 | NNE 4 | NE 5 | ENE 4 | ENE 4 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 6 | — | — | — | — | S 3 | — | — | S 4 | WSW 4 | WSW 3 | N 3 |
| kJ | 26 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 21 | 16 | 34 | 25 | 29 | 38 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 18 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 255 | 78 | 86 | 119 | 119 | 126 | 242 | 242 | 0 | 242 | 178 | 378 | 761 | 386 | 771 | 406 | 10 | 0 |
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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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