Surf Forecasts:
Pelican Watch surf forecast from 29 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 2 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 11s period, SE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 2 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 12s period, SE swell with 142 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 2 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 11s 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 Wednesday (Sep 02) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 11s period. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Pelican Watch in the next 16 days are 0.7m 12s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 02) 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 0.9m 4s period and expected on Friday (Sep 04) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here again.
First up, Pelican Watch. A good break for beginners, exposed to southeast swell, and it can get crowded. Water temp is about 83°F, which is standard for this time of year, nothing unusual.
The next week is a long dry spell. From Friday, August 28th, right through to Tuesday, September 1st, it’s pretty much flat. Tiny swell, mixed winds, and very weak energy. Not worth wetting a suit for.
The first real opportunity shows up the morning of Wednesday, September 2nd. A southeast swell around 3 ft with an 11-second period—a little groundswell. The energy steps up to moderate, and with an offshore wind from the west at about 6 mph, the waves will be clean. It’s surfable, but nothing special.
After that, it drops off again for a few days. The next notable window is the morning of Wednesday, September 9th. That SE swell builds to 4 ft with a 13-second period and energy climbing to a solid 361. But the wind swings cross-onshore from the northeast at 9 mph, making it fairly choppy. Not the cleanest.
The next morning, Thursday, September 10th, cleans up nicely. An offshore wind from the west-southwest at 12 mph, with a smaller 2 ft southeast swell. The energy is lower, but it’s clean and rideable.
If I had to point to one session, the morning of Wednesday, September 2nd, is the best bet in this outlook. It’s not big, but clean conditions on a little groundswell make it the pick. The rest of the 16 days is patchy and small. This spot is usually fairly consistent, so a quiet spell like this is a bit of a surprise, but it won’t stay poor forever. Forecasts can always change.
Keep an eye on it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 25mm), heaviest during Sat night. Warm (max 29°C on Sun afternoon, min 24°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Warm (max 34°C on Wed afternoon, min 26°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | ||||||||||||||
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 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 35 | 26 | 40 | 37 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 142 | 134 | 100 | 70 | 53 | 53 | 28 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-off | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:43PM1.55m | 9:01AM1.42m | 9:19PM1.52m | 9:40AM1.49m | 9:56PM1.46m | 10:22AM1.55m | 10:36PM1.39m | 11:07AM1.58m | 11:19PM1.30m | 11:57AM1.60m | 00:09AM1.21m | 12:55PM1.60m | 1:06AM1.14m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:16PM0.05m | 2:50AM0.06m | 2:58PM0.04m | 3:23AM0.04m | 3:41PM0.05m | 3:57AM0.03m | 4:27PM0.08m | 4:34AM0.03m | 5:18PM0.13m | 5:16AM0.04m | 6:14PM0.18m | 6:05AM0.06m | 7:17PM0.23m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | |  |  |  | |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — |
 | 7:43 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:35 | — |
mm | — | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 27 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 28 |
Feels °C | 28 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 33 | 37 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | S 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 4 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 |
| kJ | 28 | 12 | 26 | 26 | 7 | 26 | 35 | 26 | 40 | 37 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 142 | 134 | 100 | 70 | 53 | 53 | 28 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 11 | ESE 8 | SSE 5 | S 5 | ESE 8 | S 4 | SSE 4 | SSE 5 | — | E 9 | E 9 | SE 14 | ESE 13 | — | — | — | — | — | NE 6 | E 6 |
| kJ | 3 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 1 | 6 | 8 | — | 2 | 2 | 8 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 11 | E 11 | E 11 | E 10 | S 5 | — | E 9 | E 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 5 | SW 4 | — | ENE 3 | SSE 4 | — | — | — | — | SSW 2 | SW 3 | WSW 3 | SSW 3 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SSW 3 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 4 |
| kJ | 15 | 5 | — | 2 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 21 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 489 | 54 | 129 | 278 | 923 | 129 | 1906 | 642 | 282 | 1670 | 669 | 278 | 2030 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 142 | 351 | 489 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
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.
Nearest