Surf Forecasts:
Pelican Watch surf forecast from 7 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 11 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 6s period, SW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 6s period, SSW swell with 179 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 7 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period with S 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 Tuesday (Jul 07) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 10s. 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 1.6m 6s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) 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 1.6m 6s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 09) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Sat 11th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Fri 10th Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, crew. Rusty here, breaking down the surf ahead for our neck of the woods. It’s gonna be a tale of two halves: a whole lot of flat, followed by one sweet payoff.
For the first ten days or so, the ocean’s got the snooze button on. Tiny waves, messy wind – your chances of getting a proper ride are slim to none. You’ll be doing more paddling than surfing.
The big standout, the session you want to be ready for, is at Pelican Watch. The best window is Saturday, July 19th. We’ve got a 4ft swell from the S, with a 7-second period and solid wave energy (183). The real key is the morning – a light offshore wind out of the west-southwest is forecast to groom that swell into clean, surfing waves. This is the heater for anyone with a bit of experience.
Later that same afternoon, the swell drops to about 4ft from the S (142 energy), but the wind goes even lighter, turning glassy. It’ll be an absolute dream for a cruiser session.
The week before, on Saturday, July 18th, the ocean gets a bit of a temper. Swell jumps up to 5ft – 6ft from the SSW, driven by a strong to fresh offshore wind hitting 25 mph. The wave energy cranks up to a heavy 310. This is a big, bumpy, powerful swell. It’s strictly for the expert crew, and with that much wind, it might look better for the kite surfers than us paddle folks.
Water temp is a warm 83°, which is right on par for the season. Boardies and a rash guard will do you fine.
The rest of the run is a real desert. From Monday, July 7th through Friday, July 18th, it’s mainly small, weak, and wind-affected. You’ll see waist-high slop at best, and most days the wind will be putting a chop on it. Not worth the drive.
So, set your sights on Saturday, July 19th at Pelican Watch. The first session of the day is the one that’s got the juice. Everything else is just practice for your paddle strength.
Rusty, out.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Tue morning. Warm (max 34°C on Wed afternoon, min 28°C on Tue morning). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 4mm), mostly falling on Fri afternoon. Warm (max 35°C on Sat afternoon, min 25°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | |||||||||||||||
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) | S 6 | SE 9 | SE 9 | S 6 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SE 9 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SSW 6 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | E 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 41 | 22 | 21 | 40 | 21 | 33 | 32 | 19 | 179 | 73 | 14 | 107 | 58 | 51 | 23 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 29 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross | off | off | cross-off | cross-off |
High Tide | 1:45PM1.30m | 1:49AM1.15m | 2:43PM1.41m | 2:48AM1.09m | 3:44PM1.51m | 3:50AM1.06m | 4:45PM1.62m | 4:55AM1.06m | 5:46PM1.73m | 5:58AM1.09m | 6:44PM1.80m | 6:59AM1.15m | 7:40PM1.85m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 7:48PM0.19m | 7:56AM-0.00m | 8:56PM0.18m | 8:49AM-0.04m | 10:06PM0.14m | 9:46AM-0.08m | 11:12PM0.09m | 10:47AM-0.13m | 00:14AM0.02m | 11:48AM-0.18m | 1:11AM-0.04m | 12:47PM-0.22m | 2:05AM-0.09m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  |  | |  | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:05 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — |
 | — | 8:25 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:23 | — |
mm | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 31 | 31 | 29 | 32 | 34 | 30 | 33 | 34 | 29 | 32 | 34 | 29 | 31 | 35 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 24 |
Feels °C | 33 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 29 | 32 | 33 | 30 | 32 | 35 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 29 | 32 | 32 | 21 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | SE 9 | SE 9 | S 6 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSW 7 | SE 9 | SE 10 | S 6 | SE 9 | SE 10 | S 5 | SE 9 | E 6 |
| kJ | 41 | 22 | 21 | 40 | 21 | 33 | 32 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 58 | 13 | 23 | 23 | 31 | 33 | 18 | 31 | 29 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 10 | E 11 | E 10 | SE 9 | — | E 12 | E 6 | E 8 | E 9 | E 10 | E 9 | E 9 | SE 8 | E 9 | E 9 | SE 9 | E 9 | — | SE 10 | ENE 5 | SE 9 |
| kJ | 24 | 2 | 2 | 21 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 1 | — | 33 | 9 | 29 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | E 9 | — | E 11 | — | — | — | SE 8 | E 9 | E 7 | E 7 | E 9 | — | — | ENE 5 | E 5 | SSW 5 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 9 | 13 | 9 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 6 | S 6 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 | — | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | — | SSW 6 | SSW 5 | — | S 5 | — |
| kJ | 74 | 40 | 58 | 60 | 51 | 90 | 45 | 88 | 179 | 73 | 111 | 107 | — | 51 | 63 | — | 25 | 38 | — | 20 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 19 | 1237 | 54 | 0 | 945 | 355 | 0 | 321 | 304 | 59 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 1707 | 22 | 54 | 456 | 0 | 54 | 243 | 3 |
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