Surf forecast · United States · East Coast
Surf forecast Nags Head today
Waves, swell and wind at Nags Head (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 Nags Head
Right now
Good onshore.
Nags Head surf forecast, next 3 days
- Flat
- Small
- Fun
- Good
- Big
Saturday 24 October
Good Best window 15:00–18:00: good, onshore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 | 1.5 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 1.3 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 28–37 km/h ↑ENE onshore |
Sunday 25 October
Fun Best window 07:00–10:00: fun, onshore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 1.6 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 1.1 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 38–53 km/h ↑ENE onshore |
| 12:00 | 1.7 m · 7 s ↑ENE | 1.1 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 35–46 km/h ↑ENE onshore |
| 15:00 | 1.7 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 1.1 m · 7 s ↑E | 35–45 km/h ↑ENE onshore |
Monday 26 October
Fun Best window 17:00–18:00: fun, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 1.4 m · 7 s ↑ENE | 0.9 m · 8 s ↑E | 18–24 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 1.4 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 0.9 m · 7 s ↑E | 18–21 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 1.3 m · 8 s ↑ENE | 0.9 m · 8 s ↑E | 19–22 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
Tuesday 27 October
Fun Best window 07:00–10:00: fun, cross-shore.
| Time | Waves | Swell | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 0.9 m · 9 s ↑E | 0.9 m · 8 s ↑E | 15–30 km/h ↑N cross-shore |
| 12:00 | 0.9 m · 9 s ↑E | 0.9 m · 7 s ↑E | 19–27 km/h ↑NNE cross-shore |
| 15:00 | 0.9 m · 8 s ↑E | 0.8 m · 7 s ↑E | 21–30 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 Nags Head
Open the waves map centred on Nags Head
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 Nags Head
Water temperature in Nags Head (Outer Banks) · Tides in Nags Head (Outer Banks) · Swell map · Wind map
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Questions
- Is there surf at Nags Head today?
- Good: waves 1.5 m at 8 s from ENE, swell 1.3 m · 8 s ENE (Sat 15:00).
- Is the wind offshore at Nags Head?
- Wind 28 km/h from ENE: onshore for a beach facing E.
- When is the best time to surf Nags Head today?
- 15:00–18:00 (good, onshore)
- How warm is the water at Nags Head?
- 17.5 °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
Cape Hatteras 80 km · Virginia Beach 105 km · Ocean City Maryland 269 km · Wrightsville Beach 278 km · Manasquan 482 km · Rockaway Beach 536 km
How it is computed
Hourly Open-Meteo Marine forecast (wave height, peak period and direction, swell) at a point just off Nags Head, 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.