Surf Forecasts:
Pelican Watch surf forecast from 4 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 6 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 6s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 8 Aug, 5PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 8s period, SSE swell with 126 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 6 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 6s 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 (Aug 06) at 2AM. 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 1.0m 8s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 08) at 5PM. 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 5s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 04) at 11PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Thu 6th Aug) | 3ft (0.9m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 5PM (Sat 8th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Pelican Watch over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks.
First off, I gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is mostly a write-off. There’s a big gap of poor surf and ordinary conditions from Tuesday, August 4th, all the way through to Sunday, August 16th. We’re talking days of tiny, weak swell and mostly cross-off or cross winds. The waves we do get are small, around 0.7 ft to 2 ft, with short periods of 6 to 8 seconds. The combined energy is puny, often in the teens or single digits. It’s just not worth paddling out for.
The first real glimmer of hope comes on Monday, August 17th. The morning shows a modest pulse of 2 ft from the SE, but it’s the afternoon that gets a little more interesting. We get a jump to 4 ft from the NE. The period is short, only 5 seconds, but the wind is light offshore from the W, keeping things clean. The combined energy picks up to 119 (moderate). It’s surfable, but just barely.
Now, the standout. The one to circle on your calendar is Tuesday, August 18th. The morning session at Pelican Watch is looking like the best we’ll see. We’re getting a clean 4 ft swell from the E, with a period of 7 seconds. The wind is glassy – zero wind from the SSW – which means the surface will be like a mirror. The combined energy hits 200 (moderate), which is the strongest of the whole run. This is a morning for the longboard or a fun fish. The water is sitting at 83°, which is about 0.6° warmer than normal, so nothing out of the ordinary there. It’s just a nice, warm morning of clean, knee-to-waist high waves.
The afternoon on the 18th keeps the 4 ft E swell, but a light cross-off breeze comes up. It’s still clean, but not as perfect as the glassy morning.
After that, Wednesday the 19th drops back to 4 ft from the E, but the wind goes cross-shore, and the period drops to a weak 5 seconds. The energy falls off to 88 (weak). It’s a return to the flat spell.
So, for the whole 16 days, it’s a long dry spell, then one truly good morning. Get on it if you can.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 32mm), heaviest during Tue morning. Warm (max 29°C on Thu morning, min 24°C on Tue morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Sun night. Warm (max 30°C on Fri afternoon, min 26°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 4 | Wednesday 5 | Thursday 6 | Friday 7 | Saturday 8 | Sunday 9 | Monday 10 | |||||||||||||||
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 | SSE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SSE 7 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SSE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 6 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 78 | 68 | 49 | 46 | 38 | 52 | 38 | 56 | 40 | 51 | 70 | 67 | 107 | 126 | 37 | 26 | 20 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | 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 | 12:22PM1.40m | 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 | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | |  | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — |
 | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:08 | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:07 | — | — | 8:06 | — | — | 8:05 | — | — | 8:04 | — |
mm | 16 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 28 |
Feels °C | 28 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 28 | 31 | 32 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | SE 7 | SE 6 | SE 6 | SE 6 | — | SE 6 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 6 | SSE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 6 |
| kJ | 50 | 37 | 49 | 46 | 38 | — | 38 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 70 | 67 | 107 | 126 | 37 | 26 | 20 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 7 | — | — | SSW 5 | E 12 | — | — | E 10 | — | E 9 | E 9 | — | E 9 | — | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 |
| kJ | 35 | — | — | 11 | 3 | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | SSE 6 | S 6 | — | SSW 5 | SE 6 | SW 5 | SSE 7 | SE 6 | — | — | S 4 | — | — | S 4 | S 4 | SSW 4 | SSW 4 | SSW 4 | SSW 4 | SSW 5 |
| kJ | 78 | 68 | 39 | — | 9 | 52 | 5 | 56 | 40 | — | — | 17 | — | — | 12 | 15 | 20 | 27 | 11 | 28 | 39 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 567 | 352 | 575 | 23 | 0 | 298 | 1232 | 634 | 0 | 578 | 536 | 19 | 538 | 363 | 304 | 489 | 531 | 489 | 548 | 547 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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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