Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 21 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 22 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 6s period, ENE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 25 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 11s period, SE swell with 29 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 22 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 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 (Aug 22) at 5PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 8s. Another secondary swell of 0.3m and 3s is also forecast. 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 0.4m 11s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 25) 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 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5PM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 5PM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Tue 25th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next 16 days are looking pretty flat for Croatan. It’s one of those stretches where you might wanna save your wax and do something else. The water temperature is sitting about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there.
The first real chance to get wet is Saturday afternoon, August 22nd. We’ve got a tiny 1 ft swell pushing in from the ENE at a short, weak 6-second period. The combined energy is a measly 45 – that’s weak stuff. Light breeze from the south makes it cross-off and clean, so it’ll look pretty but you’ll be bouncing on a knee-high bump. It’s surfable, but just barely.
Sunday morning, August 23rd, looks glassy with a 1 ft SSE swell, but the period is still short at 7 seconds and energy is only 21 – it’s a flat, clean lake out there. Sunday afternoon stays glassy with a bit more energy (36), but still pitiful.
The whole week after that is a write-off. Tiny swells, mostly onshore or cross-shore wind, and conditions that are just poor. A few spots pop up as “surfable but very ordinary” – like Thursday afternoon, August 27th, with a 1.0 ft ESE swell and clean cross-off wind, but the energy is still only 47. You’d be scratching for a ride.
Things stay quiet through the end of August and into early September. There’s a small bump in the combined energy to 103 on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 2nd, with a 2 ft ESE swell at 11 seconds, but it’s cross-on from the NE and choppy. It’s still rated poor.
Friday morning, September 4th, shows a 2 ft SSE swell at 5 seconds – that’s sloppy, short-period stuff. Clean cross-off wind from the SW, but the energy is only 41. Not worth the paddle.
Look, Croatan is an exposed beach-and-jetty setup that’s beginner-friendly, but there’s just no punch in this forecast. The best you’ll get is a few knee-high, clean waves on a couple of afternoons, and even then it’s a gamble. If you’re desperate, Saturday the 22nd or Thursday the 27th are your best bets – but don’t expect much. For the rest of it, the wind is often light and the swell is tiny, so if you’ve got a kite, this setup might actually be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.
Hang loose, or don’t hang at all.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 37mm), heaviest during Fri night. Warm (max 30°C on Sun afternoon, min 23°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 14mm), heaviest on Sun night. Warm (max 27°C on Mon afternoon, min 22°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | ||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 4 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | NE 6 | E 13 | E 13 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | E 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | SE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 9 | E 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 23 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 12 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 29 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 16 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | off | on | on | cross | off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 2:26AM0.76m | 3:19PM1.01m | 3:33AM0.75m | 4:22PM1.01m | 4:43AM0.77m | 5:19PM1.04m | 5:41AM0.82m | 6:08PM1.08m | 6:29AM0.89m | 6:51PM1.12m | 7:11AM0.96m | 7:30PM1.15m | |||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 12:24PM0.20m | 1:09AM0.16m | 1:10PM0.16m | 1:46AM0.11m | ||||||
 |  |  |  |  | |  | | | |  | |  |  |  |  | | |  | |
 | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — |
 | 7:49 | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — |
mm | 10 | — | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | — |
Temp °C | 28 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 24 |
Feels °C | 28 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 28 | 31 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 26 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 4 | SE 4 | ESE 9 | NE 6 | SE 3 | ENE 6 | E 8 | SSE 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 5 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 23 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 21 | 3 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 16 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | ESE 9 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | E 8 | E 12 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 | NNE 3 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | — | E 17 | SSE 4 | SE 4 | E 14 |
| kJ | 13 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | E 15 | E 7 | SE 4 | ESE 8 | E 13 | E 13 | NNE 6 | E 8 | E 12 | E 7 | SSE 5 | E 7 | S 6 | — | E 6 | — | E 15 | E 9 |
| kJ | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | — | 4 | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 3 | NNE 3 | NE 4 | — | — | SSE 3 | SSE 4 | WSW 2 | SW 3 | NE 3 | N 3 | — | — | — | SE 11 | SSE 3 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 3 | 3 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | 29 | 4 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 137 | 292 | 2462 | 138 | 78 | 0 | 175 | 260 | 137 | 78 | 137 | 292 | 352 | 356 | 918 | 138 | 927 | 119 | 78 |
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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