Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 19 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 22 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 8s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 23 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 8s period, SSE swell with 250 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 19 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 7s period with SSE 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 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 7s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Croatan in the next 16 days are 1.4m 8s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 23) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 5s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8AM (Sun 19th Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 7s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Thu 23rd Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, giving you the straight talk for the next couple of weeks. It's a quiet spell, plain and simple. There’s a big gap at the start with no real surf to get excited about.
The water at Croatan is 80°F, which is a touch above the norm for this time of year. Not a big deal, but worth a mention for comfort.
Sunday morning, July 19th, is the best you’re gonna get, and that’s not saying much. A tiny 2-foot swell out of the SSE with a short period of 8 seconds, and the combined energy is weak at 50. The wind is offshore from the west at 9 mph, so it’ll be clean. It’s ridable, but forgettable. Monday morning the 20th is even smaller with an onshore breeze, so don’t bother.
Past that, it’s slim pickings. Wednesday morning the 22nd sees combined energy creep into the moderate zone at 115, but the wave height is still only 3 feet with a cross-offshore wind from the WSW at 19 mph. It stays clean but weak. The rest is a parade of small, powerless swells with either clean but empty conditions or choppy cross-shore winds. The afternoon of Saturday, July 25th goes glassy with 2-foot waves from the ESE, but you’ll be struggling to catch anything worth a paddle.
Nothing here gets over the 5-foot mark, so beginners are safe, but there’s just no push. This setup honestly looks better for kite-surfing than paddle-surfing. We’re looking at a blank run from about July 24th all the way through to the end of the forecast window with nothing on the cards. Blanks happen here, but they don’t usually last this long. Everything can change with a new forecast.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 50mm), heaviest during Tue night. Warm (max 32°C on Tue afternoon, min 22°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun night, fresh winds from the SW by Tue night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Warm (max 30°C on Wed afternoon, min 22°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | 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 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 4 | ESE 8 | S 4 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 47 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 39 | 245 | 115 | 80 | 250 | 34 | 41 | 33 | 39 | 43 | 66 | 43 | 30 | 57 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-on | glassy | on | on | off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross | glassy | off |
High Tide | 12:29PM1.10m | 00:34AM0.96m | 1:19PM1.08m | 1:21AM0.87m | 2:10PM1.05m | 2:11AM0.79m | 3:05PM1.03m | 3:08AM0.74m | 4:02PM1.02m | 4:12AM0.72m | 4:58PM1.03m | 5:15AM0.73m | 5:50PM1.05m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:44PM0.11m | 6:58AM0.03m | 7:42PM0.17m | 7:44AM0.09m | 8:39PM0.22m | 8:30AM0.13m | 9:36PM0.24m | 9:18AM0.17m | 10:33PM0.25m | 10:10AM0.20m | 11:29PM0.24m | 11:04AM0.20m | 00:21AM0.21m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  |  | | |  | | | |  |  | | |  | | | | |
 | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — |
 | — | 8:20 | — | — | 8:20 | — | — | 8:19 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 23 | — | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 30 | 31 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 32 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
Feels °C | 32 | 33 | 26 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 32 | 25 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 4 | ESE 8 | — | — | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 |
| kJ | 47 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 6 | — | — | 115 | 80 | 250 | 34 | 41 | 33 | 39 | 43 | 66 | 43 | 30 | 57 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 13 | E 13 | — | E 12 | E 12 | SE 8 | — | E 10 | — | — | SSE 5 | — | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | NNE 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 3 | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | 2 | — | — | 9 | — | 22 | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 13 | E 12 | — | — | NE 4 | NE 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 3 | 3 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 3 | NNE 3 | E 2 | E 4 | ESE 3 | SW 3 | SSW 5 | S 4 | SSE 8 | SSW 4 | SSW 4 | — | NNE 4 | NNE 4 | — | NE 3 | NNE 3 | — | NE 3 | E 4 | — |
| kJ | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 39 | 245 | 46 | 34 | — | 29 | 13 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 15 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 175 | 356 | 78 | 138 | 852 | 1132 | 817 | 443 | 175 | 0 | 78 | 242 | 242 | 137 | 242 | 242 | 185 | 242 | 0 | 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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