Croatan Surf Break

Lat Long: 36.79° N 75.96° W

Croatan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 1 am 20 Sep 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Croatan sea temperature is
25.8°C
2.7° 

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


Croatan surf forecast from 20 Sep 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 23 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, ENE swell with cross-onshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Thursday 24 Sep, 8AM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 11s period, ENE swell with 2,584 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 21 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 7s period with E 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 21) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 11s. 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 3.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 24) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 5s period and expected on Saturday (Sep 26) at 8PM.

Wave TypeTime (EDT) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 2AM (Mon 21st Sep)3ft (0.9m) 7s
Best Surf11AM (Wed 23rd Sep)10ft (3.0m) 9s
Most Powerful 8AM (Thu 24th Sep)11ft (3.5m) 11s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.


Short Range Forecast

Heavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 27°C on Mon afternoon, min 22°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Heavy rain (total 32mm), heaviest during Wed afternoon. Warm (max 22°C on Wed morning, min 15°C on Fri night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NE on Wed morning, strong winds from the NNE by Thu night).

Sunday
20
Monday
21
Tuesday
22
Wednesday
23
Thursday
24
Friday
25
Saturday
26
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
!
0
0
0
0
1
1
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)
1.2
E
8
1.1
E
7
0.9
E
7
0.7
E
7
0.7
E
8
0.7
E
8
0.6
E
7
0.9
NE
7
2.3
ENE
8
3
ENE
9
2.5
ENE
10
3
ENE
10
3
ENE
11
3
ENE
12
2.5
ENE
12
2
ENE
12
1.7
ENE
11
1.4
ENE
10
0.9
ENE
10
0.7
ENE
9
1
N
5
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
159
130
79
51
58
58
40
69
655
1392
1224
1792
2551
2502
1869
1041
650
401
151
76
45
Wind (km/h)
10
SE
20
SE
10
SW
5
SSW
15
ESE
10
SE
10
SE
10
E
15
NE
20
NE
30
ENE
35
ENE
35
ENE
35
NE
35
N
25
N
30
N
30
N
30
NNW
30
NNW
30
N
Wind State
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross
High Tide
3:40PM1.00m
4:08AM0.83m
4:40PM1.03m
5:08AM0.89m
5:30PM1.07m
5:56AM0.98m
6:14PM1.11m
6:38AM1.06m
6:55PM1.15m
7:18AM1.15m
7:36PM1.17m
7:58AM1.23m
8:16PM1.18m
Low Tide
9:07AM0.35m
10:07PM0.34m
10:06AM0.33m
10:58PM0.30m
11:03AM0.29m
11:43PM0.23m
11:55AM0.23m
00:25AM0.16m
12:43PM0.17m
1:05AM0.10m
1:28PM0.11m
1:43AM0.05m
2:11PM0.06m
2:21AM0.01m
clear
clear
clear
clear
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
rain showers
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
mod rain
mod rain
mod rain
mod rain
light rain
cloud
cloud
cloud
light rain
cloud
cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:48
6:50
6:50
6:52
6:52
6:52
6:54
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
7:04
7:01
7:00
6:59
6:58
6:55
6:54
 mm
2
2
2
4
11
4
7
7
6
6
2
1
Temp °C
25
26
24
26
27
25
25
26
23
22
22
22
22
21
20
16
17
17
16
17
16
Feels °C
26
26
25
29
28
26
28
28
24
23
20
19
19
17
15
11
12
13
11
11
11
  • 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
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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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