Pelican Watch Surf Break

Lat Long: 34.04° N 77.89° W

Pelican Watch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 1 pm 04 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Pelican Watch sea temperature is
28.3° C
0.3° 

Pelican Watch surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Pelican Watch surf forecast from 4 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 5 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 6s period, SSE swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Saturday 8 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 8s period, SE swell with 151 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 5 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 6s period with SSE 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 Wednesday (Aug 05) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 6s period. 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 1.1m 8s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 08) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.0m 4s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 11) at 5PM.

Wave TypeTime (EDT) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)11AM (Wed 5th Aug)3ft (0.9m) 6s
Best Surf11AM (Wed 5th Aug)3ft (0.9m) 6s
Most Powerful 2AM (Sat 8th Aug)3.5ft (1.1m) 8s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright, let’s get into it.

To be straight with you, the next week or so is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak surf and less-than-ideal conditions. The energy in the water is just... flat. For the first several days, we’re looking at a lot of cross-shore wind and messy, weak waves. There’s a small window on the morning of Wednesday the 5th where things clean up a touch. The swell is tiny, around 3ft from the SSE, and the wind goes cross-offshore. It’s surfable, but it’s pretty ordinary. You’d be scratching for anything rideable. The energy is weak, reading 65 on the combined scale. It’s not worth getting excited about.

The rest of that first week is more of the same. Small, weak swells, mostly around that 2ft to 3ft mark, with cross and cross-offshore winds. The energy stays weak, dropping into double digits. There’s a slight kick in energy on Saturday the 8th, hitting 108, but the swell is still just under 3ft and the wind stays cross-offshore. It’s clean-ish, but there’s just no power. This is a real test of patience.

As we move into the second week, the swell drops right off. We’re talking 0.5ft to 2ft. It’s basically flat. The wind does go more offshore for a stretch, especially Wednesday morning the 12th and Thursday morning the 13th, but with that little surf, it doesn't matter. You’d be floating around doing nothing. This is a long gap with no real surf on offer.

Now, there is a glimmer of something on the horizon. Around Saturday the 15th of August, there’s a pulse of new swell from the SSW, pushing the waves up to around 6ft. That’s the biggest we see in the whole 16-day window. The energy reading jumps way up to 338, which is the only time we see any moderate energy. It’s still a week and a half away, so it’s a long-range call, but it’s promising. The issue is the wind. It’s forecast to be cross-onshore from the NNE for that morning, which will chop it up. The period is a short 7 seconds, so it’s going to be a bit crumbly. It might be more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers, to be honest. Saturday afternoon actually looks cleaner with light, glassy conditions, but the swell drops right back down to around 2ft. That’s a hard pass.

The water temp is sitting at 83°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Honestly, this is a bleak outlook. The only real standout is that pulse on the 15th, but it’s a long way out and the forecast could change. For the here and now, you might be better off finding something else to do.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Moderate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Tue afternoon. Warm (max 29°C on Wed afternoon, min 24°C on Tue afternoon). Wind will be generally light.

Days 5-7 Weather Summary

Moderate rain (total 14mm), heaviest on Sat night. Warm (max 30°C on Fri afternoon, min 26°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light.

Tue
4
Wednesday
5
Thursday
6
Friday
7
Saturday
8
Sunday
9
Monday
10
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1
SSE
6
0.8
SE
6
0.9
SSE
6
0.9
SE
6
0.9
SE
6
0.8
SSE
5
0.7
SE
7
0.7
SE
6
0.8
SE
7
0.9
SE
7
1.1
SE
8
0.9
SE
8
0.7
SE
8
0.6
ESE
8
0.5
SE
7
0.5
SE
7
0.4
ESE
7
0.4
SE
7
0.4
SE
6
0.3
SE
6
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
68
49
65
54
56
37
44
40
62
79
151
107
62
37
26
25
18
11
11
6
Wind (km/h)
15
S
15
SSW
15
SSW
15
S
15
S
15
S
15
S
15
SSW
15
SSW
20
SSW
15
SSW
15
SSW
20
SSW
20
SW
15
SW
25
SSW
20
SW
15
SW
25
SSW
20
SW
Wind State
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
High Tide
00:29AM1.21m
1:16PM1.46m
1:22AM1.12m
2:17PM1.51m
2:24AM1.07m
3:23PM1.57m
3:32AM1.05m
4:30PM1.64m
4:42AM1.08m
5:33PM1.71m
5:48AM1.15m
6:33PM1.76m
Low Tide
6:27PM0.17m
6:32AM0.02m
7:30PM0.20m
7:23AM0.02m
8:39PM0.21m
8:22AM0.01m
9:51PM0.20m
9:27AM-0.02m
10:59PM0.15m
10:34AM-0.05m
00:01AM0.09m
11:40AM-0.10m
00:55AM0.02m
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
cloud
part cloud
rain showers
thunderstorm
clear
rain showers
clear
clear
clear
clear
clear
rain showers
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
rain showers
thunderstorm
clear
thunderstorm
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:24
6:26
6:26
6:26
6:28
6:28
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
8:09
8:08
8:07
8:07
8:06
8:05
8:04
 mm
5
3
1
2
1
4
5
1
3
1
2
Temp °C
26
27
28
29
28
28
29
27
29
30
27
29
29
27
28
30
28
30
31
28
Feels °C
28
30
29
31
31
31
30
30
32
32
30
31
30
29
31
31
30
32
31
30
  • Map Icons:
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  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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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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