Surf Forecasts:
Pelican Watch surf forecast from 25 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 29 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period, SSW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 29 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 6s period, SSW swell with 169 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 29 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period with SSW 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 (Jul 29) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 7s. 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 1.5m 6s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.7m 6s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 11AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer. To be straight with you, the next 16 days are a tough stretch for Pelican Watch. The swell is tiny and the conditions are mostly messy, so we’re looking at a long gap before anything even remotely worth a paddle.
The first week is a write-off. From Saturday the 25th through to Saturday the 1st of August, the waves are hanging around 1 ft to 3 ft, and that’s being generous. The wind is all over the shop – cross, cross-on, a bit of offshore here and there – but the energy is just weak, with combined swell energy readings mostly in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. It’s just poor surf, plain and simple.
We finally see a little bump on Monday the 3rd of August. The swell lifts to 5 ft from the SSE, with a period of 7 seconds, and the combined energy climbs to 220 (moderate). But the wind is a light cross-shore from the NNE, and the report still calls it marginal. Not the kind of thing you’d drive for. Tuesday the 4th of August has a similar story – 5 ft swell from the S, but cross-on wind and poor conditions.
The only real standout, and I’m talking the only glimmer of hope, is Wednesday morning the 5th of August. The wind goes glassy, the swell is 3 ft from the S, and the combined energy is a weak 65. The report says “surfable but very ordinary.” That’s the best we’ve got. It’s small, it’s clean, and for a beginner-friendly spot like Pelican Watch, that’s your window. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, so nothing wild there.
After that, it drops right off again. You’re looking at 0.3 ft to 1 ft junk for the rest of the run. Honestly, the whole 16-day window is a dud. There’s no real power, no consistency, and the wind rarely lines up. For a beach break that’s exposed to the SE, this is a pretty normal blank run when the summer pattern sets in. It’s not a good time for paddle surfing, but if you’ve got a kite, that Monday and Tuesday with the 5 ft waves and moderate cross-shore wind might be more interesting.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 79mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Fri night, min 21°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Thu afternoon. Warm (max 34°C on Wed afternoon, min 26°C on Tue morning). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SW on Tue night, light winds from the SE by Thu afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | ||||||||||||||
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 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | SSW 6 | SSW 6 | SSE 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | SSE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 39 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 55 | 56 | 34 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 31 | 24 | 0 | 44 | 60 | 46 | 64 | 66 | 48 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | off | off | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 5:17AM0.91m | 5:58PM1.41m | 6:07AM0.93m | 6:43PM1.45m | 6:52AM0.98m | 7:24PM1.49m | 7:34AM1.02m | 8:03PM1.52m | 8:14AM1.08m | 8:39PM1.53m | 8:53AM1.12m | 9:14PM1.52m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:40PM0.26m | 10:58AM0.15m | 00:28AM0.23m | 11:47AM0.12m | 1:11AM0.20m | 12:33PM0.09m | 1:49AM0.16m | 1:16PM0.06m | 2:25AM0.12m | 1:57PM0.05m | 2:59AM0.09m | 2:37PM0.04m | 3:32AM0.06m | ||||||
 | | |  |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | | |  |  | |
 | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — |
 | 8:17 | — | 8:17 | — | — | 8:16 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:15 | — | — | 8:14 | — |
mm | 20 | 13 | 29 | 10 | — | — | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 28 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 31 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
Feels °C | 31 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 34 | 35 | 33 | 29 | 29 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | — | SSW 6 | SSE 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | SSE 7 |
| kJ | 39 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 55 | 56 | 34 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 31 | 24 | — | 44 | 60 | 46 | 64 | 66 | 48 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSW 4 | SSW 4 | SW 4 | NE 6 | E 6 | SW 4 | SSE 5 | E 7 | SE 5 | SSW 5 | E 6 | — | SE 7 | E 9 | SE 8 | E 8 | SE 8 | ENE 4 |
| kJ | — | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | 37 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 6 | SE 9 | — | SW 4 | NE 6 | SSW 4 | NE 5 | SSW 5 | S 5 | E 6 | — | — | E 7 | E 7 | E 9 | E 8 | E 8 | ENE 4 |
| kJ | — | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 4 | SW 4 | — | NE 2 | NE 6 | ENE 4 | ENE 5 | — | SSE 5 | SE 5 | — | SSW 4 | SSW 6 | — | WSW 3 | — | — | E 3 | — |
| kJ | 6 | 14 | — | 1 | 9 | 3 | 5 | — | 9 | 5 | — | 13 | 179 | — | 3 | — | — | 1 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 454 | 243 | 556 | 946 | 278 | 575 | 634 | 527 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 22 | 129 | 22 |
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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