Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 13 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 19 Jul, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 7s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 13 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period, E swell with 182 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 19 Jul, 5PM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 7s period with SE 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 Sunday (Jul 19) at 5PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 13s. Another secondary swell of 0.8m and 4s 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 1.5m 6s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 13) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 4s period and expected on Sunday (Jul 19) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5PM (Sun 19th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 5PM (Sun 19th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 7s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Mon 13th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
Alright, grab a seat and let’s talk about what’s doing. Right now, the surf is pretty much a no-go, and we’re looking at a long, flat spell before anything worth paddling out for shows up. The first recommendation isn’t until Sunday the 19th, so that’s a solid five or six days of staring at a lake. The water at Croatan is about normal for the time of year.
The first real chance of a wave comes in on Sunday the 19th afternoon. The wind will be light and cross-offshore, cleaning things up, but the swell is tiny – only 2ft from the SE with a weak period of 7 seconds. Combined energy is a low 49. It’s surfable but very ordinary. Not worth getting too excited about.
Then Monday the 20th morning offers a slight improvement. Offshore wind from the W with clean conditions, and the swell bumps up to 2ft from the SSE with an 8-second period and combined energy at 61. Still a small, weak swell, but it’s the best you’ll see for a while. Again, just surfable and very ordinary.
After that, it’s back to poor conditions until Thursday the 23rd morning. On the 23rd, we get a small 2ft SE swell with a clean, light offshore wind from the W. Combined energy is 47. It’s surfable but nothing special. The next 10 days or so look like a whole lot of nothing, with hardly any energy.
The only half-decent pulse in the long-range is on Tuesday the 28th morning. Clouds roll in, wind is cross-offshore from the SW, and the swell kicks up to 4ft from the SE. But the period is a tiny 5 seconds – that’s windswell, short and fat. Combined energy sits at 84. It’s surfable but very ordinary.
Honestly, for the whole 16 days, the pickings are really, really slim. The best on offer is probably that Monday the 20th morning session with the offshore wind and the 2ft SSE swell – but that’s not saying much. The wind will be clean, but the swell is tiny and weak. This is a classic case of waiting and hoping forecasts change.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Sun night. Warm (max 33°C on Wed afternoon, min 23°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 34°C on Thu afternoon, min 24°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sun 19 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 | NNE 4 | NE 4 | ENE 4 | SE 4 | SSE 4 | S 5 | SE 6 | SE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 182 | 158 | 132 | 63 | 43 | 25 | 15 | 28 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 31 | 52 | 20 | 25 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-off | off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:11AM0.97m | 7:40PM1.34m | 8:07AM1.02m | 8:34PM1.34m | 9:02AM1.07m | 9:26PM1.30m | 9:56AM1.10m | 10:15PM1.24m | 10:48AM1.11m | 11:03PM1.16m | 11:39AM1.11m | 11:49PM1.06m | 12:29PM1.10m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:19AM-0.05m | 1:10PM-0.12m | 2:12AM-0.10m | 2:07PM-0.14m | 3:02AM-0.12m | 3:02PM-0.13m | 3:50AM-0.12m | 3:56PM-0.09m | 4:38AM-0.10m | 4:50PM-0.03m | 5:25AM-0.06m | 5:46PM0.04m | 6:11AM-0.02m | 6:44PM0.11m | |||||||
 |  | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | |
 | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:56 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — |
 | 8:23 | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:21 | — | — | 8:21 | — | — | 8:20 |
mm | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 3 | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 34 | 32 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 28 | 31 | 26 | 29 | 35 |
Feels °C | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 30 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 36 | 34 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 25 | 30 | 37 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | SE 5 | E 6 | ESE 6 | E 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ENE 4 | NE 4 | NE 4 | E 8 | SE 6 | SE 7 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 7 | 43 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 25 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 6 | E 6 | — | E 16 | — | E 15 | ESE 7 | SSE 5 | — | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 13 | E 13 | E 13 | E 13 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 14 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 7 | — | 5 | — | 5 | 10 | 2 | — | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | SE 9 | E 8 | ESE 9 | E 8 | — | — | E 16 | — | E 15 | E 15 | E 14 | E 14 | E 13 | E 13 | — | E 13 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | 15 | 1 | — | — | 5 | — | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | 3 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | — | — | SSW 2 | WSW 2 | SSE 3 | S 4 | SSW 3 | SSE 4 | SW 2 | NNE 4 | NE 4 | SE 3 | SE 4 | SSE 4 | S 5 | SSW 4 | S 4 |
| kJ | 182 | 158 | 132 | 63 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 31 | 52 | 16 | 21 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 484 | 242 | 242 | 242 | 374 | 419 | 78 | 138 | 487 | 280 | 1242 | 768 | 1073 | 1142 | 1142 | 1142 | 1239 | 1689 | 416 | 210 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Virginia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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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