Croatan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for our local stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be honest with you – it's a pretty grim outlook for the next couple of weeks. We're looking at a long stretch of flat, weak, and messy conditions. The first decent opportunity doesn't pop up until early August, so we're talking about a solid week of nothing worth getting wet for.

Croatan

The only spot on the radar is Croatan, and even then, it's a struggle. For the first several days, it's all poor surf with tiny, weak waves. The energy is just pathetic, barely registering on the scale. You'll see a bit of a pulse on the 2nd of August with a 4ft swell from the SSE, but the period is a short, weak 5 seconds, so it's all crumble and no punch. The combined energy is only 71 – that's feeble.

The first real chance of something surfable, but still very ordinary, arrives on the morning of Monday the 3rd of August. The swell is a modest 3ft from the SE with an 8-second period, but the big positive here is the offshore wind from the WSW. That's a clean, lined-up look for a beach break, even if the combined energy is only 97. That's a 'surfable but very ordinary' call, and I'd agree. It's a small window for a beginner or a longboarder to get a few slow, clean ones. Don't expect any power.

The cleanest conditions of the whole 16 days might actually be the glassy mornings on the 4th and 5th of August, but again, the swell is tiny. 1ft to 2ft with a 7-second period just isn't going to push you around. The water temp is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year, nothing unusual.

Later in the run, around the 9th and 10th of August, we see the combined energy bump up to 113 and 116 – that's moderate energy – but it comes with onshore wind and heavy rain. The swell is short period and messy, so it's a miss. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days with the cross-onshore chop.

Honestly, if you're desperate for a paddle, the morning of the 3rd of August is your best bet. It's small, it's weak, but it'll be clean. Otherwise, keep the board in the shed and wait for the next system.

Rusty.

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