Cape Fear to Little River Inlet, SC out 20 NM Marine Forecast
| Tonight...E Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 Ft. Wave Detail: Se 1 Ft At 4 Seconds And E 1 Ft At 12 Seconds. Patchy Fog With Vsby 1 To 3 Nm. |
| Fri...S Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 Ft. Wave Detail: Se 2 Ft At 4 Seconds And Se 1 Ft At 7 Seconds. Patchy Fog In The Morning, Then Areas Of Fog In The Afternoon. Vsby 1 Nm Or Less. |
| Fri Night...S Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 Ft. Wave Detail: E 2 Ft At 4 Seconds And Se 1 Ft At 7 Seconds. Areas Of Fog. A Chance Of Rain After Midnight. Vsby 1 Nm Or Less. |
| Sat...Sw Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Gusts Up To 20 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas 2 To 3 Ft. Wave Detail: Se 3 Ft At 6 Seconds. Areas Of Fog In The Morning. A Chance Of Rain, Mainly In The Morning With Vsby 1 Nm Or Less. |
| Sat Night...Sw Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Wave Detail: S 4 Ft At 6 Seconds. A Slight Chance Of Rain In The Evening, Then A Chance Of Rain After Midnight. |
| Sun...W Winds 15 To 20 Kt With Gusts Up To 25 Kt. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Wave Detail: Sw 4 Ft At 5 Seconds And Se 1 Ft At 6 Seconds. A Chance Of Rain In The Morning. |
| Sun Night...Nw Winds 20 To 25 Kt, Becoming N 15 To 20 Kt After Midnight. Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. |
| Mon...N Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Diminishing To 5 To 10 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas 2 To 4 Ft. |
| Mon Night...Nw Winds 5 Kt. Seas 2 Ft. |
| Tue...W Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 Ft. |
| Tue Night...Sw Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 Ft. |
| Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 700pm EST Thu Jan 8 2026 Synopsis High pressure will shift off the coast tonight into Friday allowing a warm front to move north through the area. A significant warming trend could bring near- record highs on Friday and Saturday. A strong but moisture- limited cold front will push through early Sunday, with temperatures falling to below-normal values for Monday before moderating to around normal thereafter. Made some tweaks to the public/marine forecasts, mainly to account for fog trends overnight into Fri night. Also updated aviation for 00Z TAFs. Near Term - Through Friday High pressure extending in from the north will shift eastward off the Delmarva coast this evening. As it shifts farther offshore through tonight into Friday, the winds will veer around from E-NE to E-SE by morning and then will become southerly by afternoon. Temps tonight will drop to around 50 degrees and will rebound into the 70s on Fri with plenty of WAA. Cirrus should continue to stream over the area in W-SW flow in the mid to upper levels through tonight and then expect decent coverage of fog with moist onshore flow. As winds begin to shift around and dewpoints increase further, expect a decent chance of sea fog. Overall, areas of dense fog are possible again tonight and may end up with another Dense Fog Advisory. The fog should lift by mid morning leading to a very warm day with potential for record temps. See climate section below. Short Term - Friday Night Through Saturday Night Our area will be firmly in a WAA (Warm Air Advection - the movement of warm air) regime Friday night through Saturday, with plenty of high clouds through early Saturday. Low temps Friday night in the upper 50s will be closer to climatological highs. There may be stray light showers near the coast, due to return flow, and along and west of I-95, due to weak isentropic lift, overnight Friday into Saturday, but plenty of dry air in the mid levels over our area will keep moisture shallow and therefore precipitation limited. There may be low clouds in the morning, but there will be plenty of sunshine during the day Saturday after morning clouds dissipate and dry air advecting from the southwest aloft thins out the cirrus. This will allow highs Saturday afternoon to reach upper 70s/near 80F. NBM has 30-40% chance of reaching 80F inland Saturday, which would tie or break records. Dewpoints in the mid 60s will also be more reminiscent of spring and summer. Increasing low level winds ahead of approaching cold front along with plenty of mixing will produce gusts around 25-35mph Saturday. Best rain chances remain Saturday night into early Sunday ahead of a strong cold front. Models continue to show moisture associated with the front decreasing after crossing the Appalachians. Quantitative Precipitation Forecast is around 0.25" west of I-95 and less than 0.1" near the coast. Long Term - Sunday Through Thursday The cold front itself moves across the area sometime Sunday morning, with rapidly dropping dewpoints and cooling temps behind it. Temps Sunday will depend on speed and timing of the front, and will likely see a gradient of warmer temps near the coast with cooler inland. Although upper level forcing arrives Sunday evening, delayed behind surface features, PWATs (Precipitable Waters) will have dropped down to 0.2" or less and so there will be virtually no moisture to work with. Cold Air Advection behind the front will drop temps into the upper 20s Sunday. Clear skies on Monday but cool air will lead to high temps struggling to reach 50F in the afternoon. High pressure overhead Monday night will produce another cold night in the 20s before temperatures rebound to near normal Tuesday and Wednesday. A coastal trough/low looks to develop Wednesday, although bulk of the moisture is forecasted to remain offshore. The next frontal system is forecast to impact the area next Thursday into Friday. Marine Through Friday...High pressure will shift off of the Delmarva coast north of the area allowing light winds to shift around from E-NE to E-SE by morning and then southerly into Fri afternoon. The warm moist flow over the cooler waters should produce areas of fog. May see some spots become dense but confidence is low as to the exact extent of any sea fog. Winds should remain under 10 kts as the overall gradient flow remains fairly weak. Seas will be 2 ft or less. Friday night through Monday...Southerly winds and seas will be increasing Friday night through Saturday night as a cold front approaches the area. 5-10 kts SSW winds and 1-2 ft seas Friday night increase to 15-20 kts and 4 ft seas by early Saturday night. May see spotty showers and patchy sea fog over the coastal waters during the day Saturday with high dewpoints and WAA. Best chance of rain will come late Saturday night, but thunder chances will be virtually non- existent for the nearshore waters. Cold front moves offshore early-midday Sunday. Gusty offshore winds develop Sunday afternoon, with sustained speeds around 20-25 kts and gusts up to 30 kt creating marginal SCA (Small Craft Advisory) conditions. 5-ft seas briefly enter our coastal waters Sunday evening. Winds turn northerly Monday as high pressure builds in from the west, with marine conditions quickly improving during the day. Climate Max temperatures on Friday and Saturday may reach or exceed the daily records. See below for max temp records on each day... Site Jan 9 Jan 10 Wilmington, NC: 78F (1974) 80F (1974) N. Myrtle Beach, SC: 74F (2013) 79F (1957) Florence, SC: 78F (1974) 80F (1974) Lumberton, NC: 78F (1907) 78F (1957, 1930) NOAA Wilmington NC Office: Watches - Warnings - Advisories NC...None. SC...None. Marine None. |
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