Swell
0.3ft @ 10s
from ESE (112°)
Wind waves 2.0 ft @ 7 s
Carolina Beach, NC · now
1.9
1.3 ft, ankle to knee, 7-second period, wind glassy.
- Small: longboard or foamie day
- Short-period wind swell, so expect weak, crumbly waves
Wind
2kt g3
from NW (325°)
Glassy · overcast clouds
Tide
0.6ft rising
- High 7:13 AM 5.3 ft
- Low 1:20 PM 0.1 ft
Water
76°F
Boardshorts or bikini
Air 66°F
Swell chart
Now
Loading swell chart…
Forecast
Tap a time to see it on the chart.
| Today Best 6p · 1.9 Poor | Tomorrow Best 8a · 1.5 Poor | Sunday Best 9a · 2.5 Fair | Monday | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rating | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Surf ft | 1.37s | 1.37s | 1.37s | 1.27s | 1.26s | 1.26s | 1.36s | 1.53s | 1.93s | 2.14s | 2.44s | 3.05s | 3.66s | 3.56s | 3.66s | 3.46s | 3.36s | 2.96s | 2.36s | 2.16s | 2.54s | 2.54s | 2.44s | 2.34s | 2.15s | 1.95s | 1.85s | 1.45s | 1.24s | 1.15s | 1.14s | 1.04s |
| Wind kt | 4 | 4g13 | 4g12 | 7g16 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 14g22 | 13g21 | 15g23 | 17g27 | 16g27 | 22g32 | 24g37 | 20g32 | 14g26 | 11g25 | 15g27 | 13g26 | 9g22 | 10g18 | 12 | 11g22 | 11g24 | 7g21 | 6g18 | 7g20 | 8g19 | 10 | 9 | 7g16 | 4g15 |
| Tide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Open-Meteo wave and wind models, corrected toward the live buoy for the first 24 hours. Best times count daylight only.
Locals only · Carolina Beach, NC
Surf reports and photos from local surfers. to read and post.
How the rating works
Size
Breaking wave height estimated from the buoy's swell and wind-wave readings, adjusted for period and for how directly the swell hits this beach. Carolina Beach is ideal from 3 to 10 ft.
Quality
Wave period. Long-period groundswell (11+ seconds) makes powerful, organized waves. Short-period wind swell (under 7 seconds) is weak and crumbly.
Wind
Judged against the direction this beach faces (112°). Offshore and light winds clean the waves up; onshore wind and gusts add chop.
Tide
A small bonus when the tide sits in this spot's preferred range (mid), and a small penalty at the extremes.
The overall score blends all three, but size and wind act as limits: a flat day or a blown-out day can't score well, however good the rest looks.