Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 5 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 7 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 5s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 12 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 6s period, ENE swell with 98 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 7 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 5s period with S 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 Tuesday (Jul 07) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 5s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 10s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.1m 6s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 12) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Friday (Jul 10) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 5s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 5s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Sun 12th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the next couple weeks at Croatan are looking pretty flat and uninspiring. This is a beach/jetty setup that’s fairly consistent and exposed, but right now the swell just isn’t showing up with any energy. The water’s sitting at a pleasant 78°, pretty average for this time of year, so no surprises there.
Let’s run through it. From Sunday afternoon July 5th right through to the end of the 16-day window, there’s nothing that gets me excited. We’ve got a few moments early on with tiny knee‑high slop and mostly onshore or cross‑onshore winds. Monday July 6th morning might look clean with a light offshore, but that swell is a pathetic 1 foot from the ESE with a 9‑second period and combined energy of only 39 – barely enough to stand on.
The only half‑decent windows come mid‑month. On Monday July 13th morning, a moderate offshore from the west and a clean surface, but the swell is still only 2 feet from the ENE, energy at 62. Then Tuesday July 14th morning brings the biggest swell of the whole forecast: 4 feet from the NNE with a 5‑second period and combined energy of 141. That’s moderate energy, but the period is short and it’s a beach break – expect lumpy, close‑outy walls. Offshore wind (WNW 12 mph) will keep it clean though. Still, that’s only a 1 out of 10 kind of day – surfable but very ordinary. That swell is too small for power and too short for shape.
Later on, Sunday July 19th afternoon has a glassy moment with 3 feet from the NNE, but again short period and energy only 53. Monday July 20th morning gives us clean offshore and 3 feet from the SE, energy 64. Same story.
Honestly, there’s no standout session. The best you can hope for is a small clean wave on the 14th or 20th, but don’t expect any quality. Crowds are often at Croatan, and with nothing decent running, it might actually be quiet – but that doesn’t make the surf any better. For beginners, the size is safe, but the conditions are too poor to learn on. If you’re a kiter, those onshores on a few afternoons might offer something, but for a paddle surfer, stay home.
Keep an eye on the forecasts – things can change, but right now it’s a long dry spell.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 29mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 32°C on Sun afternoon, min 23°C on Tue morning). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Thu night. Warm (max 33°C on Fri afternoon, min 22°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 4 | S 4 | ESE 9 | SSE 4 | S 5 | ESE 10 | SE 10 | NE 5 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | NE 7 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | E 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 23 | 17 | 16 | 28 | 67 | 18 | 33 | 16 | 53 | 46 | 40 | 31 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 28 | 39 | 31 | 25 | 81 | 81 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | glassy | on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | on | cross | cross | on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 00:22AM0.96m | 12:59PM1.00m | 1:08AM0.92m | 1:48PM1.05m | 2:00AM0.89m | 2:43PM1.10m | 3:00AM0.86m | 3:43PM1.15m | 4:05AM0.86m | 4:45PM1.21m | 5:10AM0.88m | 5:46PM1.27m | 6:12AM0.92m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:22PM0.18m | 6:43AM0.03m | 7:17PM0.18m | 7:29AM0.02m | 8:15PM0.16m | 8:19AM0.01m | 9:14PM0.13m | 9:12AM-0.01m | 10:16PM0.09m | 10:09AM-0.02m | 11:19PM0.05m | 11:09AM-0.05m | 00:21AM-0.00m | 12:10PM-0.09m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | | | | | | |  | |  | | |
 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:54 |
 | 8:25 | — | — | 8:25 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — | 8:23 |
mm | — | 1 | — | — | 6 | — | 8 | 11 | 3 | — | — | — | 2 | 6 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | — |
Temp °C | 32 | 29 | 26 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 33 | 29 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 26 |
Feels °C | 31 | 30 | 29 | 34 | 32 | 31 | 27 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 35 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 28 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | SE 4 | SE 10 | NE 5 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | SSE 4 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 6 | SE 9 |
| kJ | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 33 | 15 | 23 | 21 | 40 | 31 | 19 | 19 | 8 | 28 | 39 | 31 | 23 | 1 | 13 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | ESE 9 | — | — | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | E 11 | ESE 8 | NE 7 | ENE 7 | NNW 3 | NE 7 | E 9 | ESE 9 | — |
| kJ | — | — | 16 | — | — | 18 | 17 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 7 | ESE 4 | E 12 | E 12 | S 7 | E 11 | E 11 | SSE 7 | ESE 10 | E 9 | ENE 7 | E 9 | E 9 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 4 | S 4 | SSE 5 | SSE 4 | S 5 | — | NE 3 | — | NE 5 | ENE 6 | — | — | SE 3 | SSE 4 | WSW 2 | SW 3 | — | NNE 4 | NE 5 | ENE 6 | E 6 |
| kJ | 23 | 17 | 8 | 28 | 67 | — | 6 | — | 53 | 46 | — | — | 8 | 14 | 1 | 4 | — | 7 | 25 | 81 | 81 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1242 | 314 | 175 | 292 | 0 | 126 | 467 | 78 | 242 | 745 | 201 | 172 | 808 | 0 | 78 | 78 | 137 | 176 | 409 | 252 | 242 |
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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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