Surf forecast · United States · East Coast
Surf forecast Cape Hatteras today
Waves, swell and wind at Cape Hatteras (East Coast, United States) today and for the next 3 days, every 3 hours of daylight, with a plain verdict per day — flat, small, fun, good or big, offshore or onshore — and the best window to paddle out.
These numbers are more than 7 hours old, so they are hidden. Open the live waves map for the current sea. Open the waves map centred on Cape Hatteras
Right now
Fun cross-shore.
Cape Hatteras surf forecast, next 3 days
- Flat
- Small
- Fun
- Good
- Big
Saturday 24 October
Fun Best window 17:00–18:00: fun, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 | 2.1 m · 7 s ↑ENE | 1.2 m · 8 s ↑ESE | 33–43 km/h ↑NE cross-shore |
Sunday 25 October
Fun Best window 17:00–18:00: fun, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 2.3 m · 7 s ↑E | 1.5 m · 7 s ↑ESE | 37–49 km/h ↑NE cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 2.3 m · 7 s ↑E | 1.7 m · 7 s ↑ESE | 39–50 km/h ↑NE cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 2.2 m · 8 s ↑E | 1.8 m · 7 s ↑E | 40–53 km/h ↑NE cross-shore |
Monday 26 October
Fun Best window 17:00–18:00: fun, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 2.0 m · 7 s ↑ENE | 1.6 m · 8 s ↑ESE | 37–36 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 2.0 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 1.5 m · 8 s ↑ESE | 35–34 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 1.9 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 1.5 m · 8 s ↑E | 33–33 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
Tuesday 27 October
Fun Best window 08:00–11:00: fun, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 1.4 m · 9 s ↑E | 1.3 m · 7 s ↑E | 26–34 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 1.3 m · 8 s ↑E | 1.3 m · 7 s ↑E | 27–34 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 1.2 m · 8 s ↑E | 1.2 m · 7 s ↑E | 32–39 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
Every 3 hours of daylight, local time. Waves = significant height of the whole sea, with the peak period; swell = the long-period part. Arrows point where the waves and the wind are going.
Forecast for Sat 15:00 local time · updated 2026-10-24 19:11 UTC
Waves map around Cape Hatteras
Open the waves map centred on Cape Hatteras
Live significant wave height from NOAA WaveWatch III, averaged over 2° cells: coarser than the forecast above, so near the coast it can differ from it.
More about Cape Hatteras
Water temperature in Outer Banks (Hatteras) · Swell map · Wind map
LayEarth Pro
Pro adds GPS jamming, winds aloft, turbulence, 20 aurora cities and the evening-before pollen alerts for Europe — 9 USD/month.
Questions
- Is there surf at Cape Hatteras today?
- Fun: waves 2.1 m at 7 s from ENE, swell 1.2 m · 8 s ESE (Sat 15:00).
- Is the wind offshore at Cape Hatteras?
- Wind 33 km/h from NE: cross-shore for a beach facing ESE.
- When is the best time to surf Cape Hatteras today?
- 17:00–18:00 (fun, cross-shore)
- How warm is the water at Cape Hatteras?
- 18.8 °C
- Where do the numbers come from?
- The Open-Meteo Marine API (wave models of Météo-France, ECMWF and NOAA) for a point just off the beach, and the Open-Meteo forecast for the wind. A model at sea, not a surf report: sandbanks, reefs and tide shape the waves you actually get.
Nearby surf spots
Nags Head 80 km · Virginia Beach 183 km · Wrightsville Beach 238 km · Ocean City Maryland 347 km · Folly Beach 501 km · Manasquan 556 km
How it is computed
Hourly Open-Meteo Marine forecast (wave height, peak period and direction, swell) at a point just off Cape Hatteras, and the Open-Meteo wind at 10 m. Size: flat under 0.3 m, small under 0.8 m, fun under 1.5 m, good under 2.5 m (with a period of 8 s or more), big above. Wind: under 8 km/h light; otherwise offshore, cross-shore or onshore from its angle to the direction the beach faces. The best window is the 3 daylight hours with the best mix of size, period and wind. Rebuilt every 3 hours. Live map.