Cape Lookout to Surf City, NC out 20 NM Marine Forecast
| Today...Sw Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Increasing To 15 To 20 Kt Late. Seas 2 To 4 Ft. Wave Detail: S 3 Ft At 5 Seconds And E 1 Ft At 9 Seconds. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers A Moderate Chop, Increasing To Choppy Late. |
| Tonight...Sw Winds 15 To 20 Kt With Gusts Up To 25 Kt. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Wave Detail: S 5 Ft At 5 Seconds And E 1 Ft At 10 Seconds. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers Choppy. |
| Thu...Sw Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Becoming W 20 To 25 Kt In The Afternoon. Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 3 To 5 Ft, Building To 5 To 8 Ft In The Afternoon. Near Shore, Seas 3 To 4 Ft, Building To 4 To 6 Ft In The Afternoon. Wave Detail: S 6 Ft At 6 Seconds And E 1 Ft At 10 Seconds. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers Choppy, Increasing To Rough In The Afternoon. A Chance Of Showers With A Slight Chance Of Tstms. |
| Thu Night...N Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Seas 5 To 7 Ft, Except 3 To 5 Ft Near Shore. Wave Detail: S 5 Ft At 6 Seconds And Ne 2 Ft At 10 Seconds. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers A Moderate Chop. A Slight Chance Of Tstms In The Evening. Showers Likely. |
| Fri...N Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Becoming E In The Afternoon. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Wave Detail: S 3 Ft At 6 Seconds And Ne 3 Ft At 11 Seconds. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers A Moderate Chop, Diminishing To Light Chop In The Afternoon. |
| Fri Night...S Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 To 3 Ft. Wave Detail: Se 2 Ft At 6 Seconds And E 2 Ft At 10 Seconds. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers Light Chop. A Chance Of Showers After Midnight. |
| Sat...Sw Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Seas 2 To 4 Ft. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers A Moderate Chop. A Chance Of Showers. |
| Sat Night...Sw Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 To 4 Ft. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers Light Chop. A Chance Of Showers In The Evening. |
| Sun...S Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 2 To 3 Ft. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers Light Chop. |
| Sun Night...Sw Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Seas 2 To 4 Ft. Adjacent Sounds And Rivers A Moderate Chop. A Chance Of Showers. Winds And Seas Higher In And Near Tstms. |
| Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC 425am EDT Wednesday May 6 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... SCA (Small Craft Advisory) has been expanded to cover coastal waters S of Ocracoke Inlet through Surf City. Timing of pre-existing SCA (Small Craft Advisory) for central coastal waters has been adjusted. Today and FRI have trended drier. .KEY MESSAGES... 1) A cold front will move through Thursday, bringing gusty winds and scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms. Isolated storms may become strong to severe. 2) High pressure will build in Friday and bring a brief round of generally dry conditions. 3) Another front will move through early next week, with increasing shower and thunderstorm chances. KEY MESSAGE 1...A positively tilted upper-level trough will move across the Midwest THU, becoming neutral to slightly negatively tilted over NE CONUS THU night. At the surface, a slow moving cold front will move into ENC, pushing S of the FA by THU night. Timing differences still in place across avail HiRes guidance due to development of weak lows along the boundary upstream. Depending on the depth of these waves, FROPA could start as early as THU morning in the Nern FA, or as late as THU evening. These timing differences could have significant impacts on T/Td, Max temps, and available instability for storm development. THU, moisture convergence from Sern stream system over SWern CONUS and the approaching system to the N will be aided by weak areas of SFC low pressure along the front upstream will lead to an increase in clouds and rain chances after midnight tonight into the early morning hours THU. Forcing is expected to be relatively weak locally with greater dynamics and stronger jetting N of the FA. However, there is still a low, but non- zero, chance for some storms to be strong to marginally severe with ample bulk shear building through the day, albeit mostly speed shear which would favor more multi-cellular storm-modes. Instability available for convection associated with FROPA will depend heavily on the coverage of showers and thunderstorms early and the exact timing of the front. Current Quantitative Precipitation Forecast for 6Z THU-6Z FRI ranges from 0.25-1" with highest totals over NWern zones of the FA. In addition to showers and storms, Thursday will bring gusty SW winds with gusts to 20-25 mph inland and 25-35 mph along the coast. Storms with greatest vertical development may mix down some of the stronger winds aloft, making strong wind gusts the greatest threat for the area. KEY MESSAGE 2...Surface high pressure will briefly build in on Friday leading to a mild, mostly dry day with MaxTs in the low 70s. The high shifts offshore FRI night ahead of a shortwave to move through the Carolinas Saturday. This will lead to warmer, cloudier conditions to start the weekend with moisture advection ramping up in the Serly flow developing on the W side of the high. KEY MESSAGE 3...Rain chances increased again later SUN into MON ahead of another front and wave of low pressure that is currently forecast to cross the FA through the day MON. Right now it looks like another potential high shear/low CAPE setup, so will continue to monitor the potential for stronger storms. Marine Latest obs show SSW winds at 5-15kt inside, 10-20kt offshore with choppy seas 2-3 ft@5-6sec. Moderate to gusty SSW winds will continue as a slow moving cold front approaches and finally crosses THU. Light showers possible over Gulf Stream waters during peak heating today. Have added a SCA (Small Craft Advisory) for coastal waters S of Ocracoke Inlet to the already existing central waters SCA (Small Craft Advisory) for the strengthening winds reaching criteria this afternoon. SW winds will increase to 15-25 kt with gusts to 25-30 kt tonight into Thu, building seas to 5-7ft coastal waters, 7-9ft offshore waters. Showers and storms likely ahead of the front THU. Outlook: Winds will veer to the NW Thursday night behind the front with seas peaking at 5-8 ft. Winds will decrease to 15-20 kt with gusts to 20-25 kt by Friday morning with good boating conditions returning by the afternoon as high pressure builds in. The improvement will be short lived with showers and storms expected again SAT with troughing traveling over regional waters behind the high pressure sliding further offshore. Another brief lull expected early SUN before conditions deteriorate yet again ahead of a front to cross early next week. NOAA Newport/Morehead City NC Office - Watches - Warnings - Advisories NC...None. Marine Small Craft Advisory from 5pm this afternoon to 5am EDT Friday for AMZ152(Oregon Inlet to Cape Hatteras NC)-154. Small Craft Advisory from 8pm this evening to 2am EDT Friday for AMZ156-158. |
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