Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 8 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 14 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 9s period, ESE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 10 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 5s period, S swell with 80 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 14 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 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 Monday (Sep 14) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 5s. 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 5s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 10) 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 1.1m 5s period and expected on Friday (Sep 11) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Mon 14th Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Mon 14th Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Thu 10th Sep) | 4ft (1.2m) 5s |
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 the next couple of weeks are serving up for Croatan.
The truth is, we're looking at a pretty bleak stretch ahead. For the next week and a half, there is just no surf to get excited about. You're going to be staring at a whole lot of knee-high mush and chop. Hold on to your boards, because from the 8th through the 19th, it's a whole lot of nothing. The swell is tiny, and when there is any energy, the winds are mostly onshore or cross-shore, making it a messy, bumpy mess. If you're a beginner, this is perfect practice time. For anyone else, maybe just tune up your longboard and wait.
There is one tiny glimmer of hope, a true standout in this desert of flatness. Wednesday morning, September 16th, the conditions finally line up. We see a small 2ft swell from the east with a period of 6 seconds. It’s nothing special in size, but the wind goes completely glassy. It’s just clean, tiny, and surfable. It might be your only good window in the whole period. But, and it's a big but, this is a long way out, so don’t book the day off work just yet. The long-range forecast is promising but far from certain.
Now, Croatan is a beach/jetty setup, so it's pretty exposed to any swell that's out there. On that glassy morning, we have a light SW breeze, which is going to be offshore and make the surface as clean as a whistle. Remember that the ENE wind that’s been howling for days will finally back off. Also note that with the warmer than average water, sitting at 81°F, which is 5° warmer than usual for this time of year, the air will feel thick and sticky.
After that single glassy morning, the surf gods slam the door shut again. The rest of the week goes right back to small, cross-onshore junk ending with a period of fresh onshore breeze and bumpy conditions. There are some stronger swells in the forecast around the 21st and 23rd of September, but they're accompanied by strong cross-onshore winds and a short, weak period, which means it will be messy and blown out. In these conditions, with the wind howling onshore, Croatan’s beach break might actually be more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers. We'll see.
In short, patience. Mark that calendar for the 16th, and keep your fingers crossed.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 33°C on Thu afternoon, min 22°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Sun morning. Warm (max 26°C on Sun afternoon, min 23°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tue 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | ||||||||||||||
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 9 | NE 9 | SE 6 | SSE 4 | ESE 9 | SE 6 | S 4 | ESE 10 | SE 8 | NE 4 | E 5 | SE 9 | ESE 4 | SE 4 | SE 5 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | NE 5 | ENE 5 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 46 | 20 | 14 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 33 | 9 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 31 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 26 | 31 | 44 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | on | on | cross-on | on | on | off | cross | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 6:20PM1.25m | 6:45AM1.15m | 7:10PM1.26m | 7:35AM1.22m | 7:56PM1.25m | 8:22AM1.28m | 8:39PM1.21m | 9:07AM1.30m | 9:21PM1.16m | 9:51AM1.29m | 10:02PM1.09m | 10:33AM1.25m | 10:43PM1.02m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:41AM0.06m | 12:50PM0.00m | 1:28AM0.01m | 1:44PM-0.02m | 2:11AM-0.02m | 2:33PM-0.01m | 2:51AM-0.02m | 3:18PM0.03m | 3:30AM0.00m | 4:03PM0.08m | 4:09AM0.05m | 4:48PM0.15m | 4:49AM0.12m | |||||||
 |  | | | | | | |  | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — |
 | 7:22 | — | — | 7:21 | — | — | 7:19 | — | — | 7:17 | — | — | 7:15 | — | — | 7:15 | — | — | 7:13 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 24 |
Feels °C | 24 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 9 | NE 9 | SE 6 | ENE 8 | ESE 9 | SE 6 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | E 11 | SE 9 | E 9 | ESE 10 | SE 5 | ESE 9 | ESE 5 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 46 | 20 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 29 | 33 | 16 | 26 | 31 | 15 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | SE 6 | ENE 8 | ESE 9 | ENE 9 | ESE 9 | E 9 | E 8 | S 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | — | — | E 8 | ESE 10 | — | ESE 9 | ESE 5 | ESE 6 | E 15 |
| kJ | 7 | 5 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | — | — | 1 | 18 | — | 31 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 4 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | E 10 | ESE 6 | NE 9 | — | ESE 10 | E 8 | E 8 | E 11 | — | — | E 8 | E 8 | — | — | — | — | E 15 |
| kJ | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | — | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 4 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 4 | SSE 3 | — | SSE 4 | S 4 | SW 4 | S 4 | S 5 | NNE 3 | NE 4 | E 5 | E 4 | ESE 4 | SE 4 | — | SE 5 | — | N 4 | NE 5 | ENE 5 |
| kJ | 5 | 3 | — | 16 | 35 | 15 | 33 | 65 | 9 | 19 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 31 | — | 22 | — | 21 | 26 | 44 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 481 | 78 | 2105 | 1664 | 481 | 78 | 361 | 137 | 138 | 376 | 572 | 1140 | 1231 | 799 | 178 | 165 | 0 | 176 | 176 | 376 |
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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