
Surf Forecasts:
Laundromats surf forecast from 11 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 18 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 9s period, SE swell with 50 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Laundromats this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Laundromats in the next 16 days are 0.6m 9s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 4s period and expected on Monday (Aug 17) at 8PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Tue 18th Aug) | 2ft (0.6m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Laundromats over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and grim around Laundromats. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak surf ahead, and honestly, there’s nothing that’s going to get the heart racing for a while. The first real window with any kind of size doesn’t show up until way out around Monday the 24th, and even that is messy. So if you’re keen, you’re going to be waiting over a week and a half from now just to see something that might be worth a paddle.
Right now, through the 11th and into the 12th, we’re looking at ankle-biters. Tuesday morning has a touch of clean, offshore breeze with a gentle 0.7ft of ESE swell, but the energy is weak at just 9. It’s clean, glassy even, but there’s simply nothing to ride. Water temp is sitting at 83°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The 12th stays poor, with a jumbled 2ft from the north on Wednesday afternoon, and it only gets more confused from there.
The weekend of the 15th and 16th isn’t any better. Saturday kicks up a bit of cross-onshore chop with 2ft of NE windswell, but the period is a short 6 seconds, so it’ll be messy and uninviting. Sunday morning the 16th turns glassy with a 1ft bump from the ENE, but again, the energy is negligible at 20. We’re stuck in that zone where it’s clean but empty, or rough and tiny.
Midweek from the 18th to the 20th, there’s a slight bump in the combined energy readings, climbing from 85 to 91, but the swell height stays under 3ft. The period starts to stretch out a touch by the 19th with a 12-second ESE swell, but it’s still only 1ft to 2ft. It’s a tease, really—a bit of hope in the water but nothing you can actually do with it. The 20th brings a 4ft bump from the north in the afternoon, but it’s straight onshore with a short 5-second period, so it’s just messy, blown-out slop.
After a week of this, we finally see something with a bit of punch on Monday the 24th. The combined energy jumps to 144 in the morning and 149 in the afternoon, with swell heights of 4ft and 5ft from the NE. But before you get excited, the period is only 5 to 6 seconds, and the wind is a fresh cross-onshore at 18 to 22 mph. This is lumpy, wind-whipped, and honestly, at that size with that wind, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. It’s not a clean groundswell—it’s just a wall of wind chop.
The 25th and 26th drop back down again, with energy fading from 97 down to 49 by the last day. Sizes hover around 1ft to 3ft, but the cross-onshore winds don’t let up. There’s no standout window here, no hidden gem. Laundromats is fairly consistent in that it always offers something, but none of it is worth getting out of bed for.
To be fair, this blank run isn’t that unusual. With mostly poor conditions and weak, short-period swells, it can stay like this for a while. But forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this bad forever. For now, keep the board in the car, but don’t bother waxing up. The first real look, and I mean a serious look, is that Monday the 24th—and even then, you’re better off bringing a kite than a surfboard.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Warm (max 32°C on Tue afternoon, min 23°C on Tue night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 9mm), mostly falling on Fri afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Sun afternoon, min 24°C on Fri afternoon). Winds increasing (calm on Fri afternoon, strong winds from the SW by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 11 | Wednesday 12 | Thursday 13 | Friday 14 | Saturday 15 | Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | |||||||||||||||
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) | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | N 5 | NNE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 10 | SE 6 | NE 5 | NE 6 | NE 6 | E 6 | ENE 5 | SE 8 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | ESE 9 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 43 | 32 | 32 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 19 | 32 | 21 | 30 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 7:14PM1.33m | 7:43AM1.11m | 8:04PM1.33m | 8:33AM1.17m | 8:50PM1.30m | 9:21AM1.21m | 9:36PM1.23m | 10:09AM1.22m | 10:22PM1.15m | 10:58AM1.21m | 11:07PM1.05m | 11:43AM1.19m | 11:50PM0.97m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:50PM-0.02m | 1:47AM-0.06m | 1:47PM-0.06m | 2:31AM-0.10m | 2:38PM-0.06m | 3:13AM-0.10m | 3:29PM-0.01m | 3:56AM-0.06m | 4:22PM0.07m | 4:40AM0.01m | 5:17PM0.17m | 5:24AM0.09m | 6:10PM0.26m | ||||||||
6:16 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | |
— | 7:58 | — | — | 7:55 | — | — | 7:54 | — | — | 7:53 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:50 | — | |
mm | — | — | 3 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 5 | 7 |
Temp °C | 27 | 32 | 32 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 31 | 30 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 30 | 28 |
Feels °C | 28 | 32 | 33 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 28 | 33 | 32 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 6 | SE 6 | S 4 | ESE 8 | N 5 | NNE 5 | NNE 6 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | SE 6 | SE 7 | SE 8 | NE 6 | E 6 | ENE 5 | NE 5 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | S 6 |
4 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 27 | 15 | 32 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 32 | 21 | 17 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | E 8 | ESE 8 | SSE 3 | ESE 8 | NE 5 | ESE 8 | E 10 | E 12 | E 12 | SE 4 | SSE 7 | NNE 5 | NNE 5 | SE 8 | NNE 5 | S 6 | E 7 | ESE 9 |
8 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 30 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | S 6 | E 8 | ESE 8 | E 10 | ESE 8 | E 13 | SE 8 | NE 6 | — | E 12 | ESE 9 | SSE 6 | ESE 8 | E 5 | — | E 6 | — | E 8 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | 3 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 | — | 1 | — | 1 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 2 | — | W 3 | NW 4 | — | — | SSE 3 | SW 3 | S 3 | WSW 2 | — | NE 5 | NE 6 | — | — | — | SSE 2 | SSW 4 | SW 4 | S 4 | SW 3 |
1 | — | 5 | 12 | — | — | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 43 | 32 | — | — | — | 1 | 28 | 17 | 13 | 2 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 2834 | 2041 | 243 | 1904 | 2891 | 1270 | 359 | 414 | 519 | 56 | 95 | 177 | 1404 | 1413 | 438 | 654 | 1940 | 302 | 207 | 359 | 243 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Laundromats Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Laundromats provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Laundromats can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Laundromats 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 (Laundromats) 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 Laundromats 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.
Laundromats is 56 km (35 miles) from the city of Elizabeth City. If you plan a vacation in North Carolina, look for hotels and other accommodation in Elizabeth City. Elizabeth City has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.











