Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 25 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 25 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 6s period, ENE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 28 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 6s period, SSE swell with 102 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 25 Jul, 8PM (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 Saturday (Jul 25) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.3m 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 0.5m 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 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 what’s cookin’ for the next couple of weeks.
To be straight with you, this is a tough one. We’re lookin’ at a long, dry stretch with no real surf to get excited about until we hit Monday the 3rd of August. Before that, it’s all small, weak, and messy. The water’s runnin’ a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sittin’ at 77°, so a little extra chill in the air.
For the first week and a half, we’ve got waves that are barely a ripple. Most days are bringin’ in swell under 3ft, with periods under 8 seconds, so it’s just weak, short-period wind chop. The wind’s been all over the place, often cross or cross-onshore, keeping things choppy and uninviting. The combined energy is low, usually in the 30s to 80s, which is just not enough to get your heart racin’.
The one bright spot, and I mean the only one worth paddlin’ out for, is Monday the 3rd of August. That morning at Croatan, we’re lookin’ at a pulse of 4ft from the southeast. The period is still middlin’ at 8 seconds, but the wind goes light and cross-offshore, cleanin’ the faces up nicely. The combined energy hits 152, which is the best we’ll see in this whole forecast. It’s a beach-and-jetty setup, so with that direction and size, it’ll be a bit more lined up than usual. It’s not gonna be a world-class day, but it’s the one window where you’ll actually get a few decent turns. If you’re a beginner, 4ft is fine, but keep an eye on the tide. Crowds are often around here, so expect some company.
After that, it’s back to the same old story. The rest of the first week of August drops off into tiny, weak swell again, with a bit of glassy weather on the 5th but no wave height to speak of. The 9th of August has a clean, cross-offshore wind, but again, the swell is just pathetic at 1ft.
So, bottom line: if you’ve got the itch, point your board towards Croatan on the morning of Monday the 3rd. That’s your best, and really your only, shot for a proper surf. Everythin’ else, you might as well leave the board in the car.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 26mm), heaviest during Sat morning. Warm (max 25°C on Mon afternoon, min 20°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 14mm), heaviest on Tue night. Warm (max 29°C on Tue afternoon, min 23°C on Tue morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NE 7 | SE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 61 | 37 | 44 | 35 | 35 | 33 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 79 | 64 | 25 | 38 | 39 | 57 | 42 | 42 | 22 | 16 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | on | cross-off |
High Tide | 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 | 9:42AM0.99m | 9:55PM1.11m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 3:40PM0.11m | 4:08AM0.02m | |||||||
 |  |  |  | | |  |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — |
 | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:14 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:12 | — | — | 8:10 | — |
mm | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 10 | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 25 |
Feels °C | 20 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 7 | ENE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | SSE 7 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 |
| kJ | 21 | 37 | 44 | 35 | 35 | 33 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 1 | 64 | 25 | 38 | 39 | 57 | 42 | 42 | 20 | 16 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | ESE 7 | ENE 6 | — | — | NE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 6 | E 9 | E 9 | — | E 9 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NE 7 | NE 6 |
| kJ | — | 20 | 13 | — | — | 8 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | 2 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 10 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 6 | — | — | — | NE 6 | NE 6 | E 9 | E 9 | NE 6 | — | — | E 9 | ESE 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 7 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 5 | — | — | NE 6 | ENE 6 | — | — | SE 2 | SE 3 | SSE 4 | S 4 | SSE 6 | N 3 | N 4 | — | NE 7 | NE 4 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 61 | — | — | 16 | 12 | — | — | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 79 | 4 | 4 | — | 7 | 7 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 176 | 172 | 0 | 242 | 1142 | 0 | 1260 | 1260 | 404 | 137 | 137 | 137 | 0 | 137 | 78 | 79 | 176 | 0 | 197 | 622 | 14 |
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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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