Surf Forecasts:
Croatan surf forecast from 23 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 24 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 11s period, ESE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 26 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 8s period, SE swell with 78 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 24 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 1ft (0.3m), 11s period with ESE 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 Monday (Aug 24) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.3m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 4s. Another secondary swell of 0.7m 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 0.8m 8s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.6m 3s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 8AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Mon 24th Aug) | 1ft (0.3m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Mon 24th Aug) | 1ft (0.3m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Croatan over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright crew, Rusty here. Let's cut to the chase about Croatan. There's a long quiet stretch ahead before we see anything worth getting wet for.
We're starting on Sunday the 23rd of August with next to nothing—a tiny 0.7ft easterly wind swell with a long 12-second period but no power behind it. The water's sitting at 80°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. From Monday through the rest of the week and into the next weekend, it's the same story: waves barely cracking 1ft, periods getting shorter, and mostly cross or onshore wind. It's a proper stretch of flatness and poor conditions that lasts for over a week. Honestly, don't bother checking the surf until September rolls in.
Things finally start to change around Tuesday the 1st of September. We get a pulse of longer-period groundswell out of the east, pushing up to 2ft with a 16-second period. It has moderate energy behind it, but the wind blows straight onshore from the ESE, so it'll be choppy. The swell builds to 2ft on Wednesday the 2nd, but that onshore wind is still a problem.
Now, if you've got some patience, the best window in this whole 16-day outlook looks like Thursday the 3rd of September. The swell bumps up to 3ft from the ESE with a nice 13-second period and solid energy. The wind swings to the southwest, going cross-offshore in the morning and cleaning things right up. By Thursday afternoon, it's looking even better—2ft from the east with a clean cross-off breeze. Mark that date. The size is manageable for most, and the clean conditions should make for some fun, surfable waves.
After that, Friday the 4th of September has a morning window with 2ft and offshore wind from the west, but it gets blown out by onshore winds in the afternoon. The following weekend has a bit more size—up to 5ft on Saturday the 5th—but that's coming from the northeast with a short 8-second period and onshore wind, so expect chop. There's a chance it cleans up on Monday the 7th with a NW wind and a 3ft ENE swell, but by then the forecast gets less reliable.
So, the bottom line: the first week-plus is a bust. The real standout, the session to aim for, is Thursday the 3rd of September at Croatan. It won't be big, but with clean wind and a decent groundswell, it's your best shot by a long stretch.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Warm (max 29°C on Sun afternoon, min 21°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Thu morning. Warm (max 29°C on Fri afternoon, min 22°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Sun 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | ||||||||||||||
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) | E 12 | E 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 11 | 11 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 24 | 46 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 26 | 25 | 19 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross | on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | glassy | cross-off | off | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 5:19PM1.04m | 5:41AM0.82m | 6:08PM1.08m | 6:29AM0.89m | 6:51PM1.12m | 7:11AM0.96m | 7:30PM1.15m | 7:51AM1.03m | 8:09PM1.17m | 8:31AM1.09m | 8:47PM1.17m | 9:10AM1.15m | 9:26PM1.15m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:43PM0.27m | 11:32AM0.24m | 00:29AM0.22m | 12:24PM0.20m | 1:09AM0.16m | 1:10PM0.16m | 1:46AM0.11m | 1:54PM0.12m | 2:21AM0.06m | 2:35PM0.09m | 2:57AM0.03m | 3:17PM0.08m | 3:34AM0.02m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — |
 | 7:45 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — |
mm | — | — | — | 2 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 23 |
Temp °C | 29 | 27 | 25 | 27 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 31 | 25 |
Feels °C | 30 | 28 | 24 | 27 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 22 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 33 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 6 | SSE 4 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | SSE 4 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 |
| kJ | 3 | 1 | 27 | 26 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 10 | 24 | 11 | 24 | 23 | 15 | 26 | 25 | 13 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | E 12 | SSE 4 | SSE 4 | ESE 11 | SE 4 | SE 5 | NNE 4 | SE 5 | E 15 | E 14 | ESE 9 | E 10 | ESE 9 | E 11 | E 11 | ESE 8 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 |
| kJ | 4 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 8 | 46 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 12 | ESE 8 | E 7 | E 7 | — | E 7 | E 7 | SSE 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | E 13 | E 12 | E 12 | E 8 | E 8 | WNW 3 | — | — | E 9 |
| kJ | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 5 | — | — | — | — | N 4 | NNE 3 | — | — | SE 3 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SE 4 | SW 3 | S 3 | SSE 4 | WSW 3 | S 5 | SSE 2 | SSE 5 |
| kJ | 4 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | — | — | 2 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 19 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 927 | 290 | 138 | 406 | 138 | 175 | 176 | 540 | 540 | 1132 | 404 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 175 | 137 | 78 | 290 | 137 |
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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