Oregon Inlet to Cape Hatteras, NC out 20 NM Marine Forecast
| Today...Se Winds Around 5 Kt, Becoming Ne Late This Morning, Then Becoming N 15 To 20 Kt With Gusts Up To 25 Kt Early This Afternoon, Increasing To 20 To 25 Kt With Gusts Up To 30 Kt Late. Seas 3 To 4 Ft, Building To 4 To 6 Ft This Afternoon. Wave Detail: N 3 Ft At 7 Seconds And Se 3 Ft At 8 Seconds, Becoming Ne 4 Ft At 7 Seconds And Se 3 Ft At 8 Seconds. |
| Tonight...Ne Winds 25 To 30 Kt With Gusts Up To 35 Kt. Seas 5 To 8 Ft, Building To 7 To 10 Ft After Midnight. Wave Detail: Ne 8 Ft At 7 Seconds And Se 2 Ft At 8 Seconds, Becoming Ne 9 Ft At 7 Seconds And Se 1 Ft At 8 Seconds. |
| Wed...Ne Winds 25 To 30 Kt With Gusts Up To 35 Kt. Seas 8 To 11 Ft. Wave Detail: Ne 10 Ft At 8 Seconds And Se 1 Ft At 8 Seconds. |
| Wed Night...Ne Winds 20 To 25 Kt, Diminishing To 15 To 20 Kt After Midnight. Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 8 To 11 Ft. Wave Detail: Ne 10 Ft At 10 Seconds. |
| Thu...Ne Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Increasing To 20 To 25 Kt In The Afternoon. Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 8 To 10 Ft, Building To 9 To 12 Ft In The Afternoon. Wave Detail: Ne 9 Ft At 10 Seconds, Becoming E 10 Ft At 10 Seconds. A Slight Chance Of Showers. |
| Thu Night...Ne Winds 20 To 25 Kt, Diminishing To 15 To 20 Kt After Midnight. Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 8 To 11 Ft. Wave Detail: E 10 Ft At 10 Seconds. |
| Fri...Ne Winds 15 To 20 Kt. Seas 8 To 11 Ft. |
| Fri Night...Ne Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 7 To 10 Ft. |
| Sat...Nw Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 6 To 9 Ft. |
| Sat Night...Ne Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 5 To 7 Ft. |
| Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC 644am EDT Tuesday April 7 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... Marine Hazards have been updated. Majority of Gale Watches have been upgraded to Warnings. Timing of existing SCAs (Small Craft Advisories) have been adjusted. .KEY MESSAGES... 1) A dry cold front will bring below normal temperatures and elevated winds to ENC through midweek. 2) Warming trend and and mostly dry weather forecast to follow the front. Well above normal temperatures this weekend and into next week. 3) Stiff winds over ENC and low pressure passing offshore will build seas mid to late week. Good chance of High Surf criteria being met with potential for wave run up and ocean overwash concerns for vulnerable portions of the OBX. Marine...Behind a dry cold front the pressure gradient tightens bringing a threat for a mix of gales and small craft advisory conditions to our area waters starting tonight and continuing into Wednesday. Sea driven SCAs (Small Craft Advisories) to follow the gales for coastal waters potentially into the weekend. KEY MESSAGE 1...High cirrus will continue to stream in across the Carolinas through the morning in association with a low pressure system in the Gulf given the steady SW flow aloft. A dry cold front will track across the Carolinas and push offshore tonight with the low pressure in the Gulf then riding ENEwards along this boundary on WED. At the same time, a strong high pressure ridge will build into the Northeast. The combination of the strong high and departing front/ low will bring a rather strong pressure gradient to the area bringing cool NEerly winds to ENC. Winds may approach wind advisory criteria across the Core Banks, but this seems fairly marginal at this time, so have opted not to go with a headline here, but following shift may have to take another look at this possibility. Given the direction of the winds this will bring a relatively cool maritime airmass over ENC keeping temps below average through Wednesday as high temps only get into the upper 50s to 60s today and then mid 50s to 60s on WED. KEY MESSAGE 2...Mid to late week, low pressure passes offshore, though there are quite a few differences in depth of the low and how close to coast it gets before departing Eward out to sea. Some global guidance solutions keep the low further out to sea and suggest some subtle coastal troughing to develop across the Carolina Coast THU and FRI. Regardless of which solution ends up right, at least a SChc of light offshore showers skirting the coast from Oregon Inlet S through the Crystal Coast through FRI afternoon. Building low level thicknesses through the end of the work week allows warming temps despite the light NEerly flow regime, upper 60s THU, mid 70s FRI. SUN afternoon, stout SFC high rotates off the Mid- Atlantic coast, veering local winds more Eerly SUN to become Serly early next week allowing further warming; MaxTs into the upper 80s at the end of the forecast period (next TUE). KEY MESSAGE 3...The strong NEerly winds over ENC and low pressure passing offshore which will further build long period swell that will approach the coast will lead to building seas. This swell could lead to wave runup concerns and ocean overwash at particularly vulnerable locations along the OBX coast from Oregon Inlet S through Cape Lookout starting WED. How long the stronger swell hits the coast will be dependent on track and depth of the low, but could potentially last into late-week, and maybe even the weekend if the more pessimistic solutions play out. Adding this threat to the HWO product, but have opted not to go with a High Surf advisory nor any coastal flood headlines until we get a feel for where the front sets up once it sinks S of the FA, and therefor where the low will track. Marine Relatively benign boating conditions come to an end today as dry cold front sinks S across area waters. The front is forecast to push offshore by this afternoon and continue south tonight. While at the same time, low pressure currently in the Gulf eventually rides along this front and a strong high pressure ridge builds in from the N. Winds will quickly become N-NEerly and increase to 20-30 kts with gusts up around 30-40 kts across our waters bringing a mix of gale force and SCA (Small Craft Advisory) criteria winds. All coastal water gale watches from Oregon Inlet S and the Pamlico Sound have been upgraded to Gale Warnings. SCAs (Small Craft Advisories) in place for all other waters. Seas will build given the elevated winds, seas forecast to peak at 7-12ft@8-9sec with wind waves on top of it, highest seas over the Gulfstream where swell direction will oppose the current. Outlook: Once these hazardous conditions develop expect continued strong NE winds at 15-20 kts with gusts up around 25-30 kts across our waters from Wednesday evening into the end of the week as the pressure gradient will remain pinched between the aforementioned high and front/low. Seas will remain 6+ ft into the weekend as well. While Gales are forecast to come to an end by late WED, SCAs (Small Craft Advisories) will continue into the weekend at least across our coastal waters. NOAA Newport/Morehead City NC Office - Watches - Warnings - Advisories NC...Beach Hazards Statement through this evening for NCZ205. Marine Small Craft Advisory from 7pm this evening to 11pm EDT Wednesday for AMZ131-230-231. Gale Warning from 9pm this evening to 3pm EDT Wednesday for AMZ135(Pamlico Sound). Small Craft Advisory from 8pm this evening to 5pm EDT Wednesday for AMZ136. Small Craft Advisory from 7pm this evening to 2pm EDT Thursday for AMZ137. Small Craft Advisory from 2pm this afternoon to 2am EDT Saturday for AMZ150. Gale Warning from 7pm this evening to 4pm EDT Wednesday for AMZ152(Oregon Inlet to Cape Hatteras NC)-154. Gale Warning from 7pm this evening to midnight EDT Wednesday night for AMZ156-158. |
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