Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 25 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 27 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 6s period, ENE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 28 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period, SSE swell with 160 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 27 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 6s 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 Monday (Jul 27) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 8s. 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 1.5m 6s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Mon 27th Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Mon 27th Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at the forecast. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and quiet for our area, so don't get your hopes up for any fireworks. We've got a long stretch of poor conditions ahead.
Starting now and running for the next week and a half, the surf is basically a no-go. The first time we see anything even close to surfable is on Monday, August 3rd, with a clean little wave. For almost ten days before that, from Friday, July 24th right through to Sunday, August 2nd, it's all small, weak, and messy. We're talking swell heights below 2 feet, with combined energy so low it's barely registering – numbers like 53, 40, and 28 in the brackets tell that story. The wind is all over the place, mostly cross or onshore, keeping it choppy.
For the whole first week, the best you can hope for is a tiny bit of relief on July 28th when a cross-offshore breeze cleans things up, but with a 3 ft swell from the S and a super short period of just 4 seconds, it's still pretty weak (energy 67). The water temp is about average for this time of year at 79°.
Croatan is a beach and jetty break, and with these tiny, weak swells, it's really a beginner spot if anything. The optimum direction here is ESE, and we aren't seeing much of that.
Finally, on Monday, August 3rd, we get a slight pulse. The morning sees a 3 ft SSE swell (8 sec period) and a clean cross-offshore wind from the SW. The combined energy bumps up to 121. It's still small, but it'll be the cleanest the waves have looked in ages. It's just "surfable but very ordinary". Tuesday, August 4th morning is similar but smaller, with a 2 ft swell from the SE and clean winds from the WNW. After that, it dries up again for the rest of the second week.
No standouts here, folks. It just doesn't look good. We're in a flat spell, and that's the story.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon. Warm (max 24°C on Sun afternoon, min 21°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 20mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 29°C on Wed afternoon, min 23°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | ||||||||||||||
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) | ENE 5 | ENE 5 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 4 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 32 | 35 | 52 | 47 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 38 | 143 | 57 | 28 | 37 | 70 | 64 | 39 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | cross | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 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 | 8:21AM0.91m | 8:39PM1.13m | 9:02AM0.95m | 9:17PM1.12m | |||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 2:17PM0.11m | 2:57AM0.06m | 2:58PM0.10m | 3:32AM0.03m | |||||||
 |  |  | | |  | |  |  |  |  | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — |
 | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:14 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:12 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 23 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 26 |
Feels °C | 21 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 | NE 8 |
| kJ | 31 | 28 | 20 | 47 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 24 | 25 | 14 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 143 | 57 | 28 | 37 | 70 | 64 | 39 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | ESE 7 | — | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | E 9 | N 3 | E 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 29 | — | 4 | 4 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 41 | 21 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 6 | S 6 | — | — | — | — | NE 6 | — | E 9 | — | SSE 7 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 21 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 5 | ENE 5 | ENE 5 | — | ENE 6 | NE 5 | NE 5 | — | — | ESE 2 | SSE 3 | S 3 | S 4 | SW 4 | NW 3 | — | N 5 | — | — | SSE 3 |
| kJ | 32 | 35 | 52 | — | 27 | 14 | 14 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 5 | 38 | 19 | 3 | — | 11 | — | — | 2 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 138 | 176 | 106 | 106 | 165 | 242 | 882 | 0 | 16 | 1142 | 401 | 1231 | 1265 | 0 | 78 | 137 | 0 | 175 | 186 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
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