VA-NC border to Currituck Beach Light, NC out 20 nm Marine Forecast
| Rest Of Today...Nw Winds 10 To 15 Kt, Becoming N Late. Gusts Up To 20 Kt. Seas 3 To 4 Ft, Occasionally To 6 Ft. Wave Detail: Ne 4 Ft At 7 Seconds And Nw 2 Ft At 3 Seconds. |
| Tonight...Ne Winds 20 To 25 Kt With Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 4 To 5 Ft, Occasionally To 7 Ft, Building To 6 To 7 Ft, Occasionally To 10 Ft After Midnight. Wave Detail: N 5 Ft At 5 Seconds, Becoming Ne 6 Ft At 6 Seconds. |
| Wed...Ne Winds 20 To 25 Kt, Diminishing To 15 To 20 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas 6 To 7 Ft, Occasionally To 10 Ft. Wave Detail: Ne 6 Ft At 6 Seconds. |
| Wed Night...Ne Winds 15 To 20 Kt With Gusts Up To 25 Kt. Seas 6 To 7 Ft, Occasionally To 10 Ft. Wave Detail: Ne 6 Ft At 8 Seconds. |
| Thu...Ne Winds 15 Kt With Gusts Up To 20 Kt. Seas 6 To 7 Ft, Occasionally To 10 Ft. Wave Detail: Ne 6 Ft At 9 Seconds. |
| Thu Night...Ne Winds 10 To 15 Kt. Seas 6 To 7 Ft, Occasionally To 10 Ft. Wave Detail: E 7 Ft At 10 Seconds. |
| Fri...Ne Winds 5 To 10 Kt. Seas 6 To 7 Ft, Occasionally To 10 Ft. |
| Fri Night...E Winds 5 To 10 Kt, Becoming S After Midnight. Seas Around 6 Ft, Occasionally To 9 Ft. |
| Sat...W Winds 5 To 10 Kt, Becoming N In The Afternoon. Seas 5 To 6 Ft, Occasionally To 9 Ft. |
| Sat Night...Ne Winds 5 Kt. Seas Around 5 Ft, Occasionally To 7 Ft. |
| Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wakefield VA 713am EDT Tuesday April 7 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... - Upgraded the Freeze Watch to a Freeze Warning for portions of Central VA and the interior MD Eastern Shore for tonight/Wednesday am (and added Prince Edward/Amelia). .KEY MESSAGES... 1) A Freeze Warning is in effect for portions of central VA and the interior MD eastern shore tonight/Wednesday AM, with additional Frost/Freeze headline potential for Wednesday night/Thu AM. 2) Dry conditions/low min RH may with somewhat breezy conditions may lead to heightened fire weather concerns today and Wednesday, especially for areas that received little rainfall Sunday. 3) Remaining dry through the middle of next week, with a significant warmup starting late this week and progressing into next week. As of 330am EDT Tuesday... KEY MESSAGE 1...A Freeze Warning is in effect for portions of central VA and the interior MD eastern shore tonight/Wednesday AM, with additional Frost/Freeze headline potential for Wednesday night/Thu AM. A dry cold front is currently moving into far northern portions of the CWA, and will drop south into NC through ~12Z or shortly thereafter. Just high clouds are in association with this front, and these will thin out and push farther south later today. In the wake of this front, strong surface high pressure (1037 mb), is currently centered across the upper midwest, and will build E-SE into the eastern Great Lakes by this evening. Pressure rises of around 6 mb/6 hr are expected this morning, with deep mixing and very dry air leading to breezy N-NW later this morning through the afternoon. High temps today will be slightly below average (but still close to normal), ranging from the upper 50s and low 60s along and N of I-64 to the mid 60s across southern VA and NE NC. The surface high builds to nearly 1040 mb late tonight into Wednesday morning, and will be centered over central NY/PA, ridging S into northern VA. This location will not be optimal for radiational cooling tonight, but the strength of the high is impressive, so even with mixing tonight, overnight temps will likely drop at or below freezing across much of the piedmont and into the MD eastern shore away from the immediate coast. Have upgraded the Freeze Watch to a Freeze Warning, and added Prince Edward/Amelia as well. No Frost is expected as dew pts will be quite low with max RH values in the 60-70% range, along with continued mixing (so there will not be any Frost Advisories for areas dropping to near freezing). The dayshift later today could potentially add a few more counties in the piedmont and northern Neck depending on trends in the forecast later today. Note that the entire CWA (County Warning Area) is active in the growing season after collaboration with neighboring offices. Even with full sun, high temperatures Wednesday will be well below normal, by around 15 degrees near the coast where it will struggle to get out of the upper 40s/lower 50s with onshore flow. Inland highs will be in the mid to upper 50s, or about 10 degrees below average. RH values will be much higher Wednesday night with frost formation likely in areas that drop off to the mid 30s or colder. A light freeze will be possible on the eastern shore and northern sections of the CWA W of the Bay. While confidence is too low to issue a Freeze Watch, additional headlines are possible. KEY MESSAGE 2...Dry conditions/low min RH may with somewhat breezy conditions may lead to heightened fire weather concerns today and Wednesday, especially for areas that received little rainfall Sunday. Much drier air filters in later today on NNW winds in the wake of the cold front pushing south of the region. Min RH values will drop down to 20-25% for much of the region, with a few spots in central VA possibly down to 15-20%. N-NW winds will gust to 15-25 mph, highest across east central VA and the MD eastern shore. These conditions may cause heightened fire weather concerns today, though no IFDs have been issued thus far but this will be coordinated with State Forestry Agencies this morning. KEY MESSAGE 3...Remaining dry through the middle of next week, with a significant warmup starting late this week and progressing into next week. Temperatures climb back to near normal Thu afternoon as the surface high slowly weakens, and conditions remain dry. Another upper level trough drops across the NE CONUS Sat, but temperatures locally continue to slowly warm back above normal Fri-Sat. There is a very low chance for an isolated shower Sat, but to low to be in the gridded forecast. Otherwise, temps warm well above normal Sun- Monday with highs well into the 80s as an upper level ridge builds across the SE CONUS. Some areas could see the 1st 90-degree reading of the season by Tue-Wednesday next week. Marine As of 315am EDT Tuesday... Key Messages: - A Cold front will move through this morning, with an initial surge of SCA (Small Craft Advisory) winds across the Bay later this morning. - Strong high pressure building in behind a cold front will bring additional SCA (Small Craft Advisory) conditions Tuesday night through Wednesday, with elevated seas lingering on the ocean through Friday. Weak high pressure is centered in the vicinity of Mid-Atlantic coast, with a dry cold front across the Ohio River Valley drifting southwards towards the local waters this morning. Winds across the Bay and coastal waters remain southerly between 10-15 kts with gusts of 15-20 kts. As the aforementioned front nears the area, winds will shift to the SW-W. As the front moves through, winds will shift to the NW-N in its wake. Hi-res guidance is showing an initial surge of winds behind the front, especially across the Bay, so have decided to go ahead and start the SCAs (Small Craft Advisories) early in the Bay. That being said, the best Cold Air Advection and pressure rises will be later in the day, and into tonight as strong high pressure builds in from the Great Lakes and NY/PA. A NE wind is forecast to increase back to SCA (Small Craft Advisory) levels for most of the area starting Tuesday night, with the highest winds expected across the lower portions of the Chesapeake Bay and the southern coastal waters. After that, the high is forecast to be nearly 1040 mb and become anchored from southern New England into the northern Mid-Atlantic region. This setup leads to a long fetch of NE wind and the models are often underdone with wind and waves. The onshore surge should build seas to 5-7 ft (potentially higher) for the NC and southern VA ocean zones where seas likely will remain at SCA (Small Craft Advisory) levels into at least Friday. Due to the very dry and cooler air moving in behind the front, have gone ahead and included all rivers in the SCA (Small Craft Advisory) tonight. The northern coastal waters north of Parramore Island will likely still remain below SCA (Small Craft Advisory) criteria in terms of wind gusts, but could potentially see SCA (Small Craft Advisory) seas so will continue to monitor that over the next forecast cycle. As the high shifts offshore, the Middle Bay, rivers, and northern coastal waters will see winds relaxing some, while winds and seas remain elevated across the lower Bay and southern coastal waters. SCA (Small Craft Advisory) winds will linger in these waters through at least WEdnesday afternoon, while the prolonged period of ENE winds will keep seas elevated in the southern waters through at least Thursday, so the SCA (Small Craft Advisory) has been maintained through then (and may need to be extended). NOAA Wakefield VA Office: Watches - Warnings - Advisories MD...Freeze Warning from 2am to 9am EDT Wednesday for MDZ021>024. NC...None. VA...Freeze Warning from 2am to 9am EDT Wednesday for VAZ048- 060>062-064-068-069-509>511. Marine Small Craft Advisory until 10am EDT Wednesday for ANZ630-631. Small Craft Advisory until 4pm EDT Wednesday for ANZ632-634. Small Craft Advisory from 7pm this evening to 4pm EDT Wednesday for ANZ633. Small Craft Advisory from 7pm this evening to 10am EDT Wednesday for ANZ635>638. Small Craft Advisory from 1am Wednesday to 6pm EDT Thursday for ANZ650-652-654. Small Craft Advisory from 7pm this evening to 6pm EDT Thursday for ANZ656-658. |
Newport NC Radar
Southeast Radar
East Coast Satellite