Croatan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a good hard look at what’s coming our way for the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch, so temper those expectations.

We are looking at a lean period overall. The entire 16-day window is dominated by tiny, weak swell and mostly onshore or cross-shore winds. There’s a big dry spell from now until about the morning of Sunday the 16th of August. For over a week, the energy is barely registering – mostly two-digit numbers in the low teens and twenties – and the wave comment across the board is "poor surf conditions." You’d be chasing shadows. It’s not looking like a surfable stretch at all until we get a slight pulse of energy on the 16th.

Croatan (beach/jetty) breaks the drought on Sunday morning the 16th, with a tiny 3 ft easterly swell. The period is a short, snappy 4 seconds, so it’ll be weak. Wind is offshore from the west at 6 mph, which is a positive, keeping the morning clean. But the combined energy is still just a weak 24, so it’s a wave for a longboard or a foiler if you’ve got one. Not a standout.

The afternoon of the 16th sees a jump in size to 5 ft from the northeast, but the period stays a messy 5 seconds. The combined energy hits 110 (moderate), which sounds promising, but it comes with a cross-onshore wind from the ESE at 9 mph. That’s going to make it choppy and harder to manage. Still, it’s the biggest swell of the entire outlook, so if you absolutely have to get wet, that’s your window – just be prepared for a bumpy ride. It’s not breaking cleanly.

From Monday the 17th into Tuesday the 18th, we get a couple of mornings where the energy sits in the 50s and 70s with clean conditions or offshore winds. The swell is a paltry 2 ft to 2 ft from the ENE with a 6 to 7 second period. It’s "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." For a beginner spot like Croatan, that tiny, weak swell might be okay for a learner to bob around in, but nothing that will get the heart racing.

After that, from Wednesday the 19th onward, it's back to poor surf conditions with weak energy (43 to 81) and mostly cross-off winds. Nothing to plan a session around. The water temp anomaly is average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

Honestly, there’s no true standout here. The best on offer is the Sunday afternoon of the 16th of August for the biggest size, but it’s compromised by the wind. The cleanest wave is the Sunday morning of the 16th, but it’s tiny. That’s the pick of a pretty grim litter. For most of the rest, you’d be better off kiting than paddling if the wind suits.

Keep watching the charts, but for now, don’t book the day off.

Rusty.

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