Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 18 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 19 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 10s period, ESE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 18 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 11s period, SE swell with 59 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 19 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 10s 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 Wednesday (Aug 19) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 10s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 0.5m 11s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 5PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 4s period and expected on Monday (Aug 24) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Tue 18th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, this is Rusty. Let's be straight with you – the outlook for the next couple of weeks is pretty flat and grim. We're looking at a long stretch of tiny, weak surf with barely any push. Most of the time, the energy is in the double digits, which is just weak. For the first week, it's a real struggle to find anything rideable, with a bunch of days where the swell is under 2ft and the winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore. It’s not looking good for a paddle.
There’s a bit of a pulse showing up around Wednesday, August 26th into Thursday, August 27th. The combined energy finally ticks up to moderate levels, hitting 103 on Wednesday morning and climbing to 158 by Thursday afternoon. That's a bit more interesting, but even then, the swell height is only 1ft to 2ft. The silver lining is the wind: Wednesday morning sees a light cross-off breeze from the SSW, and Thursday morning and afternoon have moderate cross-off winds, keeping things clean. The period on Wednesday morning is 16 seconds, which is very long, and for a beach/jetty setup like Croatan, that long-period groundswell can make the waves break a bit too straight. It's a caveat.
By Friday, August 28th, the energy is still moderate at 112 in the afternoon, and the swell drops to 2ft, but we get a window of glassy conditions with the wind swinging ESE at just 3 mph. That’s a rare moment of calm. Then on Monday, September 1st, we see another glassy morning, but the swell is tiny at 2ft with weak energy.
Honestly, for the entire 16-day run, there’s no standout session. The best of a bad bunch is likely the Thursday, August 27th morning at Croatan. The swell direction is from the E at 2ft, and with the combined energy at 122, it’s the most push we’ll see. The cross-off wind from the SSW at 12 mph will keep the surf clean. It's not big, but it's the best we've got. Don't expect much, though. The water temp is about 80°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.
For the rest of the period, it’s a long dry spell of poor conditions and ankle-biters. If you're desperate for a paddle, keep an eye on those glassy windows, but don't get your hopes up.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 44mm), heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 32°C on Thu afternoon, min 22°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 45mm), heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 27°C on Sun afternoon, min 22°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SE 9 | SE 11 | ESE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | E 13 | E 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 27 | 59 | 40 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 13 | 54 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 27 | 26 | 23 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | glassy | cross-on | on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 12:38PM1.12m | 00:42AM0.87m | 1:26PM1.07m | 1:30AM0.81m | 2:19PM1.03m | 2:26AM0.76m | 3:19PM1.01m | 3:33AM0.75m | 4:22PM1.01m | 4:43AM0.77m | 5:19PM1.04m | 5:41AM0.82m | 6:08PM1.08m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:04PM0.23m | 7:00AM0.18m | 8:00PM0.28m | 7:49AM0.23m | 8:57PM0.31m | 8:42AM0.27m | 9:54PM0.32m | 9:38AM0.28m | 10:51PM0.31m | 10:36AM0.27m | 11:43PM0.27m | 11:32AM0.24m | 00:29AM0.22m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | |  |  | |  |  |  | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — |
 | — | 7:51 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:49 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | 2 | — | 3 | 10 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 29 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
Feels °C | 32 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 32 | 32 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 27 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 9 | SE 11 | ESE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | SE 4 | ESE 9 | NE 4 | SSE 4 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | SE 4 | NE 6 | SE 7 | SSE 6 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 |
| kJ | 27 | 59 | 40 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 7 | 26 | 23 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | ESE 11 | — | — | NE 4 | NE 4 | — | — | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | ESE 9 | NE 4 | NE 4 | E 8 | ESE 8 | E 8 | NE 6 | ESE 12 | SE 6 | NE 5 |
| kJ | 6 | 23 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 5 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SE 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | NNW 3 | E 15 | E 8 | SSE 4 | ESE 9 | E 13 | ENE 4 | NE 6 | E 12 | E 12 | NE 5 | NE 5 | E 7 |
| kJ | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | ENE 2 | SE 3 | SE 3 | SE 8 | NNE 3 | — | — | — | WSW 3 | SSE 4 | WSW 3 | SW 2 | SSE 7 | S 4 | N 3 | N 3 | SE 5 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 78 | 138 | 0 | 176 | 299 | 768 | 572 | 852 | 178 | 242 | 2462 | 242 | 138 | 138 | 299 | 294 | 294 | 78 | 138 | 196 | 138 |
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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