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Marine Weather and Tides
Version 3.4 |
10/6/2018 Colors of tide XTide graphs changed to emphasize that they were upgraded. See next note. Comments welcome. 10/4/2018 I have fixed XTide and updated the harmonic files. There were some name changes so you might have to click EDIT to find the new station name. |
Sunrise 6:49AM | Sunset 6:01PM | Wednesday February 20, 2019 10:08 AM EST (15:08 UTC) | Moonrise 7:24PM | Moonset 7:44AM | Illumination 99% | ![]() |
AMZ250 Coastal Waters From Surf City To Cape Fear Nc Out 20 Nm- 940 Am Est Wed Feb 20 2019
.small craft advisory in effect through Thursday morning...
Rest of today..E winds 15 to 20 kt, becoming S 10 to 15 kt late. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Periods of rain late this morning and early afternoon, then a chance of rain late. Vsby 1 to 3 nm early this afternoon, decreasing to 1 nm or less.
Tonight..SW winds 10 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. A chance of showers, mainly in the evening.
Thu..SW winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft. A chance of showers. Areas of fog.
Thu night..SW winds 10 kt, becoming nw with gusts up to 20 kt after midnight. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Areas of fog in the evening. A chance of showers.
Fri..NE winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft, building to 4 to 6 ft in the afternoon. Showers likely.
Fri night..NE winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. A chance of showers.
Sat..SE winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming sw. Seas 4 to 5 ft. A chance of showers through the day.
Sun..SW winds 15 to 20 kt, becoming w. Seas 4 to 6 ft. A chance of showers through the day.
.small craft advisory in effect through Thursday morning...
Rest of today..E winds 15 to 20 kt, becoming S 10 to 15 kt late. Seas 5 to 7 ft. Periods of rain late this morning and early afternoon, then a chance of rain late. Vsby 1 to 3 nm early this afternoon, decreasing to 1 nm or less.
Tonight..SW winds 10 kt. Seas 5 to 7 ft. A chance of showers, mainly in the evening.
Thu..SW winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft. A chance of showers. Areas of fog.
Thu night..SW winds 10 kt, becoming nw with gusts up to 20 kt after midnight. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Areas of fog in the evening. A chance of showers.
Fri..NE winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft, building to 4 to 6 ft in the afternoon. Showers likely.
Fri night..NE winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 4 to 6 ft. A chance of showers.
Sat..SE winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming sw. Seas 4 to 5 ft. A chance of showers through the day.
Sun..SW winds 15 to 20 kt, becoming w. Seas 4 to 6 ft. A chance of showers through the day.
AMZ200 940 Am Est Wed Feb 20 2019
Synopsis for coastal waters from surf city north carolina to south santee river south carolina out to 20 nautical miles.. A coastal front just offshore will track toward the coast, pushing onshore tonight and further inland before dissipating during Thu. A cold front dropping southward late Thu will stall across or just south of the forecast area Fri and Sat. Sun will see this front return north as a warm front, pushing across the area early in the day. The next cold front will arrive from the west Sun night.
Synopsis for coastal waters from surf city north carolina to south santee river south carolina out to 20 nautical miles.. A coastal front just offshore will track toward the coast, pushing onshore tonight and further inland before dissipating during Thu. A cold front dropping southward late Thu will stall across or just south of the forecast area Fri and Sat. Sun will see this front return north as a warm front, pushing across the area early in the day. The next cold front will arrive from the west Sun night.
7 Day Forecast for Marine Location Near Wrightsville Beach, NC
Hourly EDIT Helplocation: 34.21, -77.79 debug
Area Discussion for - Wilmington, NC
  (on/off)  Help NOTE: mouseover dotted underlined text for definitionFxus62 kilm 201124 afdilm area forecast discussion national weather service wilmington nc 624 am est Wed feb 20 2019 Synopsis A front will lift into coastal communities today while inland areas remain on the cool side of the boundary. Warmer air will move on on Thursday and again be most pronounced along the coast. Seasonable weather Friday will give way to another warmup over the weekend. A cold front is due later Sunday. Near term through Thursday As of 300 am Wednesday... A particularly difficult forecast is shaping up for today as models are struggling to initialize the position of the front offshore and struggling to depict the very cold, dry low-level air across the eastern carolinas. A general rule of thumb in these situations is that the cold wedge will last longer than you'd think possible and that NAM typically performs much better than the gfs. I can't find a compelling reason to think otherwise, and this forecast is very close to the 00z NAM today through tonight. A developing coastal front extending from 40 miles east of jacksonville fl out along the western edge of the gulf stream east of CAPE fear should move westward toward the coast today. Modest 300- 305k isentropic lift over the frontal inversion across the eastern carolinas should result in solid clouds and waves of light rain today. Forecast rain chances range from 70-90 percent with the most substantial QPF expected along the coast. After starting out this morning in the upper 30s to lower 40s, temperatures should only slowly crawl through the 40s through early afternoon. As the coastal front reaches CAPE fear by mid-afternoon temperatures should pop into the mid 50s in wilmington and southport. The boundary should also make it into the grand strand area by late afternoon with temperatures also rising into the 50s. Inland temperatures should remain stuck in the 40s all day as there's simply no mechanism to dislodge the cold, dense air at the surface given solid cloud cover above. The coastal front should become more diffuse tonight. As the parent canadian high moves farther off the new england coast we'll lose our connection to any influx of cold, dry air in the low levels. With no further evaporational cooling and substantial warm advection ongoing aloft, temperatures should remain steady or rise slightly overnight. Thursday's forecast is no easier than today's as the NAM maintains enough of the wedge airmass inland to produce a large temperature gradient either side of i-95. While the bust potential is high, it appears along the coast we'll see enough sunshine to mix up into the subtropical air aloft with temperatures punching well into the 70s. West of i-95 it's possible low clouds could linger all day with temperatures stuck in the 60-65 range. Colleagues at NWS columbia and raleigh are all on-board with this idea as well. Short term Thursday night through Friday night As of 300 am Wednesday... Backdoor cold front slides into the region from the north Thursday night bringing some rain along with it though models not in good agreement with respect to qpf. Friday into Friday night the wedge to the north of the boundary pushes more into the carolinas. Expect cloudy but only slightly cool conditions with generally light rain or drizzle as very low amplitude ridging aloft over bahamas leads to little mechanism for ascent locally. Long term Saturday through Tuesday As of 300 am Wednesday... High pressure wedge remains firmly entrenched on Saturday while coastal warm front approaches. This boundary will lift through Saturday night into Sunday allowing for much milder air to flood into the region. A largely moisture-starved front then moves through on Sunday, it's parent low all the way up in the area lakes. Post-frontal high pressure to bring dry and fairly seasonable weather Monday and Tuesday. Aviation 12z Wednesday through Sunday As of 12z... MVFR conditions becoming widespread as showers and low- level moisture increase this morning. Conditions will continue to deteriorate with all terminals expected to reach ifr, if not lifr, later this morning. A warm front will move inland this afternoon, ending shower chances, and possibly producing sea fog that may affect coastal terminals. Confidence is low at the moment; models are not handling the position and movement of the warm front very |
well. Llws will develop after 00z at inland terminals, expanding toward the coast by the end of the period. Ifr lifr conditions will persist overnight, through the end of the period. Extended outlook... Thursday morning ifr ceilings should lift along the coast, but could linger through a good portion of the day inland. The front lingering in the area could lead to more ifr ceilings and or vsbys Friday into Saturday as another round of overrunning rain develops. Marine As of 300 am Wednesday... Strong northeast winds this morning have built seas to 8 feet at the frying pan shoals buoy and 12 feet at the edisto buoy east of charleston. The worst of the marine weather conditions are ongoing now, and improving winds seas are expected as a coastal front begins to move westward toward the coast this afternoon. Northeast winds should bend easterly around noon, then should become light and southerly as the front moves through. Models are not in any sort of agreement with the position or timing on the front, but my best forecast has it reaching the CAPE fear coast during the mid-afternoon hours, and the grand strand during the late afternoon. The preferred model today is the 00z nam. The front should weaken near the coast tonight with light south to southwest winds continuing into Thursday. Subtropical moisture creeping up the coast could lead to areas of sea fog developing tonight into Thursday, and it's even possible some of the fog could become dense given a favorable wind trajectory and high moisture content of the incoming airmass. Thursday night through Friday night... Backdoor cold front moving south across the area Thursday night turning winds onshore and dropping dewpoints that should bring and end to the sea fog. Mariner problems then transition to wind and seas behind the front, both of which could reach advisory levels. The high pushes in more Friday night but the local change of winds and seas will be minimal and the advisory may continue. Saturday through Sunday... Cool air wedge breaks down Saturday albeit somewhat gradually. Winds will be veering in direction and abating in speed. No headlines are expected. Sunday will bring SW to w flow around a large storm system in the great lakes. Advisory- worth 6 ft seas could return. Tides coastal flooding As of 300 am Wednesday... Large tidal ranges associated with this month's full moon will be further enhanced by strong northeast winds this morning. The current tidal anomaly measured at gauges at wrightsville beach and myrtle beach ranges from +1.2 to +1.4 feet. This may begin to subside slightly by the time high tide occurs around 745 am, but adding this anomaly to the astronomical tide easily yields minor coastal flooding all along the coast. The most significant flooding is expected in the myrtle beach murrells inlet area where water should reach a solid half foot over flood stage. This could be sufficient to make some flood-prone streets impassible around high tide. Minor coastal flooding will also occur during daytime high tides on the CAPE fear river at downtown wilmington this morning and again tomorrow. Ilm watches warnings advisories Sc... Coastal flood advisory until 9 am est this morning for scz054- 056. Nc... Coastal flood advisory until 9 am est this morning for ncz106- 108-110. Coastal flood advisory until 11 am est this morning for ncz107. Marine... Small craft advisory until 9 pm est this evening for amz254- 256. Small craft advisory until 7 am est Thursday for amz250-252. Synopsis... mbb near term... Tra short term... mbb long term... mbb aviation... 21 tides coastal flooding... Tra |
Weather Reporting Stations
EDIT (on/off)  Help NOTE: Click on distance to see the station location on a mapStations | Dist | Age | Wind | Air Temp | Water Temp | Waves | Pressure | DewPt |
JMPN7 - 8658163 - Johnny Mercer Pier, Wrightsville Beach, NC | 0 mi | 39 min | ENE 15 G 16 | 53°F | 53°F | 1025.7 hPa | ||
41038 - ILM2 - 5 miles SE of Wrightsville Beach, NC | 6 mi | 121 min | ENE 18 G 23 | 51°F | 54°F | 1026.1 hPa | ||
41110 - Masonboro Inlet, NC | 6 mi | 39 min | 53°F | 6 ft | ||||
WLON7 | 9 mi | 39 min | 50°F | 52°F | 1025.7 hPa | |||
41037 - ILM3 - 27 miles SE of Wrightsville Beach, NC | 27 mi | 61 min | SSE 23 G 31 | 62°F | 61°F | 1025.5 hPa | ||
41108 | 36 mi | 39 min | 54°F | 5 ft | ||||
41024 - Sunset Nearshore (SUN 2) | 45 mi | 61 min | NE 16 G 19 | 49°F | 53°F | 1024.7 hPa | ||
41064 | 45 mi | 61 min | SSE 21 G 29 | 60°F | 62°F | 1026.2 hPa | ||
41159 | 45 mi | 39 min | 62°F | 8 ft |
Wind History for Wrightsville Beach, NC
(wind in knots) EDIT (on/off)  Help10 AM | 11 AM | 12 PM | 1 PM | 2 PM | 3 PM | 4 PM | 5 PM | 6 PM | 7 PM | 8 PM | 9 PM | 10 PM | 11 PM | 12 AM | 1 AM | 2 AM | 3 AM | 4 AM | 5 AM | 6 AM | 7 AM | 8 AM | 9 AM | |
Last 24hr | N | NE G21 | NE | NE | NE G18 | NE | NE G21 | NE G21 | N | NE | NE | NE G26 | N G22 | N G18 | N G21 | NE | N | N | NE | NE | NE | NE G26 | NE | NE |
1 day ago | S | S | S | S G5 | W G14 | NW G12 | NW G15 | NW G8 | NW | N | NW | NW | N | N G14 | N G17 | N G16 | N G19 | N G19 | N G14 | N G16 | N G18 | N | N | NE G20 |
2 days ago | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | N | NE | NE | E | E | N | N | E | NW | N | SW | S | SW | SW | SW G24 | NW G12 | NW | NW G8 | W |
Airport Reports
EDIT (on/off)  Help Click EDIT to display multiple airportsAirport | Dist | Age | Wind kt | Visibility | Sky/Weather | Temp | DewPt | Humidity | Pressure |
Wilmington International Airport, NC | 8 mi | 76 min | NE 6 | 2.50 mi | Light Rain Fog/Mist | 45°F | 43°F | 93% | 1026.6 hPa |
Brunswick County Airport, NC | 24 mi | 89 min | NE 5 | 3.00 mi | Drizzle | 52°F | 51°F | 98% | 1026.1 hPa |
Wind History from ILM (wind in knots)
11 AM | 12 PM | 1 PM | 2 PM | 3 PM | 4 PM | 5 PM | 6 PM | 7 PM | 8 PM | 9 PM | 10 PM | 11 PM | 12 AM | 1 AM | 2 AM | 3 AM | 4 AM | 5 AM | 6 AM | 7 AM | 8 AM | 9 AM | 10 AM | |
Last 24hr | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | N | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE |
1 day ago | SW | W | NW | NW | NW | NW | NW | NW | NW | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | NE | N | N | N | NE | N | |
2 days ago | Calm | NE | N | NE | E | E | E | NW | Calm | Calm | Calm | Calm | Calm | S | SW | SW G20 | W | NW | NW | W | W | Calm |
Tide / Current Tables for Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
EDIT RT Ports Option Weekend mode (on/off) (on/off)  Help One Week of DataWrightsville Beach
Click for Map
Wed -- 01:26 AM EST -1.21 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 06:50 AM EST Sunrise
Wed -- 07:39 AM EST 5.06 feet High Tide
Wed -- 07:43 AM EST Moonset
Wed -- 02:04 PM EST -1.06 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 05:59 PM EST Sunset
Wed -- 07:24 PM EST Moonrise
Wed -- 08:01 PM EST 4.53 feet High Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Click for Map
Wed -- 01:26 AM EST -1.21 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 06:50 AM EST Sunrise
Wed -- 07:39 AM EST 5.06 feet High Tide
Wed -- 07:43 AM EST Moonset
Wed -- 02:04 PM EST -1.06 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 05:59 PM EST Sunset
Wed -- 07:24 PM EST Moonrise
Wed -- 08:01 PM EST 4.53 feet High Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
12 am | 1 am | 2 am | 3 am | 4 am | 5 am | 6 am | 7 am | 8 am | 9 am | 10 am | 11 am | 12 pm | 1 pm | 2 pm | 3 pm | 4 pm | 5 pm | 6 pm | 7 pm | 8 pm | 9 pm | 10 pm | 11 pm |
-0.5 | -1.1 | -1.1 | -0.3 | 1 | 2.6 | 4 | 4.9 | 5 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.4 | -0.6 | -1.1 | -0.7 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 1.9 |
Tide / Current Tables for Wilmington, North Carolina
EDIT (on/off)  Help One Week of DataWilmington
Click for Map
Wed -- 04:34 AM EST -0.73 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 06:51 AM EST Sunrise
Wed -- 07:44 AM EST Moonset
Wed -- 10:10 AM EST 4.95 feet High Tide
Wed -- 05:11 PM EST -0.47 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 05:59 PM EST Sunset
Wed -- 07:24 PM EST Moonrise
Wed -- 10:39 PM EST 4.74 feet High Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Click for Map
Wed -- 04:34 AM EST -0.73 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 06:51 AM EST Sunrise
Wed -- 07:44 AM EST Moonset
Wed -- 10:10 AM EST 4.95 feet High Tide
Wed -- 05:11 PM EST -0.47 feet Low Tide
Wed -- 05:59 PM EST Sunset
Wed -- 07:24 PM EST Moonrise
Wed -- 10:39 PM EST 4.74 feet High Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
12 am | 1 am | 2 am | 3 am | 4 am | 5 am | 6 am | 7 am | 8 am | 9 am | 10 am | 11 am | 12 pm | 1 pm | 2 pm | 3 pm | 4 pm | 5 pm | 6 pm | 7 pm | 8 pm | 9 pm | 10 pm | 11 pm |
3.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | -0.6 | -0.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.2 | -0.5 | -0.1 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 4 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
Weather Map and Satellite Images
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GOES Local Image of EDIT
NOTE: East coast views moved to GEOS-16. They are experimental and not well supported by NOAA so they may not be correct so be warned. This change required redoing a large amount of the GOES code. If the image you are expecting is not showing, please let me know. You may need to use the EDIT function to update your location.
Link to Loop

Other links: Northern Pacific Contential US Full GOES-East
Wind Forecast for Wilmington, NC (10,2,3,4)
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Ground Weather Radar Station Wilmington, NC
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Disclaimer: The information on this web site has not been checked for accuracy. It is for entertainment purposes only and should be independently verified before using for any other reason. There are five sources. 1) Documents and manuals from a variety of sources. These have not been checked for accuracy and in many cases have not even been read by anyone associated with L-36.com. I have no idea of they are useful or accurate, I leave that to the reader. 2) Articles others have written and submitted. If you have questions on these, please contact the author. 3) Articles that represent my personal opinions. These are intended to promote thought and for entertainment. These are not intended to be fact, they are my opinions. 4) Small programs that generate result presented on a web page. Like any computer program, these may and in some cases do have errors. Almost all of these also make simplifying assumptions so they are not totally accurate even if there are no errors. Please verify all results. 5) Weather information is from numerious of sources and is presented automatically. It is not checked for accuracy either by anyone at L-36.com or by the source which is typically the US Government. See the NOAA web site for their disclaimer. Finally, tide and current data on this site is from 2007 and 2008 data bases, which may contain even older data. Changes in harbors due to building or dredging change tides and currents and for that reason many of the locations presented are no longer supported by newer data bases. For example, there is very little tidal current data in newer data bases so current data is likely wrong to some extent. This data is NOT FOR NAVIGATION. See the XTide disclaimer for details. In addition, tide and current are influenced by storms, river flow, and other factors beyond the ability of any predictive program. |