Surf Forecasts:
Pelican Watch surf forecast from 2 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 3 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 9s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 8 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 7s period, ESE swell with 137 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 3 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 9s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Pelican Watch this week:
The surf forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 03) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 3s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Pelican Watch in the next 16 days are 1.3m 7s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 08) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 4s period and expected on Saturday (Sep 05) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Tue 8th Sep) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what Pelican Watch has cooking for us over the next couple weeks.
Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: this is a tough stretch. We're looking at a long, dry run with barely a ripple worth getting wet for. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a bust for decent waves. There's a real gap of surfable conditions from the start all the way through.
The only time things even get close to interesting is right at the very beginning. On Wednesday, September 2nd, we get a little pulse of life. Wednesday morning at Pelican Watch, the water is a warm 82°F, which is about average for this time of year. We've got a clean, glassy 3ft swell rolling in from the southeast with a period of 10 seconds. The combined energy is weak, only about 154, so it's not gonna be firing, but those conditions are clean. The wind is light and variable, making for a nice, smooth surface. It's a beginner-friendly spot and the swell is small enough for anyone to handle. But don't get too excited – by the afternoon that wind swings around and it’s all over.
After that Wednesday morning window, the surf just tanks. Honestly, it’s a ghost town out there. For the next two weeks, we're looking at tiny, weak swells, wrong winds, and generally poor surf conditions. There are a few mornings with offshore or glassy winds, like on Saturday the 5th and the 10th, but the swell is so small – 1ft to 1ft – you'd be fighting for a 2-second ride. It’s just not worth paddling out.
So, to wrap it up: your one and only real shot is first thing Wednesday the 2nd. After that, give the board a rest. These flat spells happen, and with the forecasts likely to change, we might get lucky later on. For now, the water looks better for a kayak than a surfboard.
Stay thirsty, friends.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Wed afternoon, min 26°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 39mm), heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 31°C on Sat afternoon, min 22°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | Monday 7 | Tuesday 8 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | S 5 | ESE 8 | SE 9 | ESE 5 | E 5 | E 5 | E 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 154 | 117 | 103 | 65 | 64 | 34 | 26 | 26 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 24 | 58 | 75 | 55 | 104 | 105 | 85 | 49 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-on |
High Tide | 11:57AM1.60m | 00:09AM1.21m | 12:55PM1.60m | 1:06AM1.14m | 2:00PM1.60m | 2:13AM1.10m | 3:10PM1.61m | 3:27AM1.12m | 4:20PM1.64m | 4:38AM1.18m | 5:23PM1.68m | 5:42AM1.29m | 6:19PM1.70m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:14PM0.18m | 6:05AM0.06m | 7:17PM0.23m | 7:02AM0.09m | 8:28PM0.26m | 8:08AM0.10m | 9:41PM0.25m | 9:21AM0.09m | 10:47PM0.21m | 10:32AM0.05m | 11:44PM0.14m | 11:37AM0.00m | 00:35AM0.08m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | | |  |  | | |  | | | | |  | |
 | 6:45 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — |
 | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:29 | — | — | 7:28 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 29 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 26 |
Feels °C | 33 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 5 | S 4 | SE 9 | SE 9 | — | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 6 |
| kJ | 154 | 117 | 103 | 65 | 64 | 34 | 26 | 26 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 13 | — | 11 | 17 | 105 | 85 | 49 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | S 5 | SSE 6 | E 6 | SSE 6 | SE 8 | E 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SSW 4 | — | — | S 6 | SE 6 | S 5 | S 5 | ESE 10 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 2 | — | — | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | S 7 | E 6 | — | E 6 | E 6 | — | SE 9 | E 7 | SSE 5 | — | — | — | S 5 | — | — | E 9 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SSE 3 | — | S 2 | SSW 3 | — | S 3 | SSW 4 | S 5 | SSW 4 | SSW 5 | E 2 | ESE 4 | ESE 5 | E 5 | E 5 | E 6 | — | — | SSE 6 |
| kJ | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 8 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 19 | 1 | 24 | 58 | 75 | 55 | 104 | — | — | 6 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 140 | 0 | 140 | 304 | 278 | 527 | 769 | 355 | 54 | 892 | 59 | 960 | 837 | 708 | 837 | 842 | 30 | 30 | 138 | 364 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Pelican Watch 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 Pelican Watch Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Pelican Watch provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Pelican Watch can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Pelican Watch 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 (Pelican Watch) 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 Pelican Watch 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.
Pelican Watch is 26 km (16 miles) from the city of Wilmington. If you plan a vacation in North Carolina, look for hotels and other accommodation in Wilmington. Wilmington has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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