Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Topsail Beach, NC
March 28, 2024 5:59 PM EDT (21:59 UTC) Change Location
Sunrise 7:02 AM Sunset 7:31 PM Moonrise 9:56 PM Moonset 7:34 AM |
AMZ250 Coastal Waters From Surf City To Cape Fear Nc Out 20 Nm- 309 Pm Edt Thu Mar 28 2024
.small craft advisory in effect through late tonight - .
Through 7 pm - N winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. Showers. Vsby 1 to 3 nm.
Tonight - NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft. A chance of showers early in the evening.
Fri - NW winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming W in the afternoon. Gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft.
Fri night - W winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft.
Sat - W winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming sw 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft.
Sat night - SW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft.
Sun - SW winds 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft.
Sun night - SW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft.
Mon - SW winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft.
Mon night - SW winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft.
Tue - SW winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 3 to 5 ft.
Tue night - SW winds 15 to 20 kt. Seas 4 to 5 ft. A chance of showers after midnight.
AMZ200 309 Pm Edt Thu Mar 28 2024
Synopsis for coastal waters from surf city north carolina to south santee river south carolina out to 20 nautical miles - High pressure will build in behind a cold front with gusty north winds through tonight. The high will move across the southeast Friday, then offshore this weekend.
Area Discussion for - Wilmington, NC
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FXUS62 KILM 281952 AFDILM
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 352 PM EDT Thu Mar 28 2024
SYNOPSIS
Rain will gradually taper off through the remainder of the day as cooler and drier air arrives from the northwest. High pressure will dominate through the weekend with a gradual warmup commencing as the high shifts off the Southeast coast on Friday night. The next chance of rain will accompany a cold front late Tuesday into Wednesday.
NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/
Moderately strong mid level trough impinging upon the area showing up best in WV imagery while visible channel shows baroclinic leaf moving off the coast. The trough has pushed a surface front off the coast evident by this afternoon's well below climatology. So too will tonight's lows be below normal. Luckily guidance is pretty tightly clustered and there doesn't seem to be any potential for frost as temperatures remain just mild enough and we also hold on to a few knots of NW wind. Dry air will precede the cold air and skies will clear out quickly this evening. As wind turns from NW to W tomorrow the CAA will shut down tonight and then reverse to WAA Friday allowing for a return of seasonable temperatures.
SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/
For those who enjoy warm weather, conditions are shaping up for a pleasant weekend. With surface high pressure shifting off the southeast US coast on Friday night and remaining north of the Bahamas, warm southwesterly winds will usher in increasingly warm temperatures through the weekend. These warm temperatures will come courtesy of increasing 1000-500mb thicknesses and mainly sunny skies as mid-level subsidence keeps low-level cumulus at bay while some passing cirrus grace the sky on Saturday.
An initially chilly Saturday morning with lows in the mid-upper 40s is expected to see highs reach the mid- to perhaps upper 70s and somewhat milder morning lows on Sunday in the low-mid 50s are expected to rebound into the low 80s. Thicker high-level clouds are expected to move overhead on Sunday night, limiting overnight lows to the upper 50s to around 60F.
LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/
Mid-level ridging and temperatures are still expected to peak on Monday with highs in the low-mid 80s, which would be about 10 degrees above normal for April 1st, but still about 5-10 degrees below record highs. High-level cloudiness and a considerable amount of cumulus are expected though, which could limit highs depending on their thickness and extent. In addition, those clouds will keep overnight lows well-above normal, with low to mid-60s forecast for Monday night.
Beyond Monday night, model guidance appears to be coming into better agreement on a potent shortwave trough diving down from central Canada and spinning up a closed low over the Great Lakes on Wednesday. This will cause surface low pressure to strengthen as it crosses New England, bringing a better shot of cool/dry air behind its associated cold front. This front is still expected to approach during the midweek period, but the daylight hours on Tuesday should stay dry while rain chances increase over Tuesday night. A band of showers associated with the front should cross the area from Tuesday night into Wednesday with the frontal passage and dry northwest winds taking over for Wednesday night. The airmass behind this front looks to knock temperatures back to near or below- normal, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s.
AVIATION /19Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
Rain done at FLO and LBT and should wrap up soon at coastal locales.
IFR cigs still widespread along the coast with some improvement noted inland. VFR will sweep east across the area this evening and remain for the rest of the period. NW winds relax with the loss of heating tonight followed by a turn to westerly late in the period as high pressure builds in from the west.
The surface cold front is offshore and cool northerly winds are now blowing across the eastern Carolinas. Moisture overrunning the front aloft will maintain multilayered clouds and light to moderate rain, lasting through at least early afternoon along the coast. The precipitating cloud base will gradually rise to 5000 feet over the next several hours but broken low clouds in the shallow cool air below will form IFR ceilings in the 500-800 foot AGL range. These cloud ceilings should prevail through 16-18 UTC inland, and 19-21 UTC along the coast before breaking up and/or rising to MVFR. Skies should clear out totally tonight after the upper level trough zips by a few hours after sunset.
Extended Outlook...VFR.
MARINE
Through Friday...
High pressure building behind this morning's cold frontal passage. The tight gradient will keep winds and seas in SCA realm through the evening and into the first part of tonight. Both should drop below thresholds later tonight and the 08Z expiration time for the headline still appears to be on track. As the center of the high draws closer from the west as Friday progresses local winds will veer to W and continue to abate. Seas will have trouble dropping much below the 3-5 ft range.
Friday night through Tuesday...
Initially westerly winds will back to southwesterly Friday evening and will prevail through the entire period. We will see occasional enhancements to the flow as the pressure gradient oscillates between tightening and loosening as low pressure areas pass by well to our north. Overall, winds will stay sub- SCA, although gusts may approach or reach ~25 kts at times. In addition, seas generally remain in the 2-4 ft range with some 5 foot seas possible mainly on Saturday night and again late on Tuesday. Seas will initially be a combination of 1-3 ft easterly swells at 11 sec and 2-3 ft southwesterly wind waves at 4-5 sec. The easterly swells subside to 1-2 ft by late Saturday and diminish through Sunday while the southwesterly wind waves take over as the primary contributor to wave heights with a period of around 5 sec.
ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
NC...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM EDT Friday for AMZ250-252-254- 256.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 352 PM EDT Thu Mar 28 2024
SYNOPSIS
Rain will gradually taper off through the remainder of the day as cooler and drier air arrives from the northwest. High pressure will dominate through the weekend with a gradual warmup commencing as the high shifts off the Southeast coast on Friday night. The next chance of rain will accompany a cold front late Tuesday into Wednesday.
NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/
Moderately strong mid level trough impinging upon the area showing up best in WV imagery while visible channel shows baroclinic leaf moving off the coast. The trough has pushed a surface front off the coast evident by this afternoon's well below climatology. So too will tonight's lows be below normal. Luckily guidance is pretty tightly clustered and there doesn't seem to be any potential for frost as temperatures remain just mild enough and we also hold on to a few knots of NW wind. Dry air will precede the cold air and skies will clear out quickly this evening. As wind turns from NW to W tomorrow the CAA will shut down tonight and then reverse to WAA Friday allowing for a return of seasonable temperatures.
SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/
For those who enjoy warm weather, conditions are shaping up for a pleasant weekend. With surface high pressure shifting off the southeast US coast on Friday night and remaining north of the Bahamas, warm southwesterly winds will usher in increasingly warm temperatures through the weekend. These warm temperatures will come courtesy of increasing 1000-500mb thicknesses and mainly sunny skies as mid-level subsidence keeps low-level cumulus at bay while some passing cirrus grace the sky on Saturday.
An initially chilly Saturday morning with lows in the mid-upper 40s is expected to see highs reach the mid- to perhaps upper 70s and somewhat milder morning lows on Sunday in the low-mid 50s are expected to rebound into the low 80s. Thicker high-level clouds are expected to move overhead on Sunday night, limiting overnight lows to the upper 50s to around 60F.
LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/
Mid-level ridging and temperatures are still expected to peak on Monday with highs in the low-mid 80s, which would be about 10 degrees above normal for April 1st, but still about 5-10 degrees below record highs. High-level cloudiness and a considerable amount of cumulus are expected though, which could limit highs depending on their thickness and extent. In addition, those clouds will keep overnight lows well-above normal, with low to mid-60s forecast for Monday night.
Beyond Monday night, model guidance appears to be coming into better agreement on a potent shortwave trough diving down from central Canada and spinning up a closed low over the Great Lakes on Wednesday. This will cause surface low pressure to strengthen as it crosses New England, bringing a better shot of cool/dry air behind its associated cold front. This front is still expected to approach during the midweek period, but the daylight hours on Tuesday should stay dry while rain chances increase over Tuesday night. A band of showers associated with the front should cross the area from Tuesday night into Wednesday with the frontal passage and dry northwest winds taking over for Wednesday night. The airmass behind this front looks to knock temperatures back to near or below- normal, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s.
AVIATION /19Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
Rain done at FLO and LBT and should wrap up soon at coastal locales.
IFR cigs still widespread along the coast with some improvement noted inland. VFR will sweep east across the area this evening and remain for the rest of the period. NW winds relax with the loss of heating tonight followed by a turn to westerly late in the period as high pressure builds in from the west.
The surface cold front is offshore and cool northerly winds are now blowing across the eastern Carolinas. Moisture overrunning the front aloft will maintain multilayered clouds and light to moderate rain, lasting through at least early afternoon along the coast. The precipitating cloud base will gradually rise to 5000 feet over the next several hours but broken low clouds in the shallow cool air below will form IFR ceilings in the 500-800 foot AGL range. These cloud ceilings should prevail through 16-18 UTC inland, and 19-21 UTC along the coast before breaking up and/or rising to MVFR. Skies should clear out totally tonight after the upper level trough zips by a few hours after sunset.
Extended Outlook...VFR.
MARINE
Through Friday...
High pressure building behind this morning's cold frontal passage. The tight gradient will keep winds and seas in SCA realm through the evening and into the first part of tonight. Both should drop below thresholds later tonight and the 08Z expiration time for the headline still appears to be on track. As the center of the high draws closer from the west as Friday progresses local winds will veer to W and continue to abate. Seas will have trouble dropping much below the 3-5 ft range.
Friday night through Tuesday...
Initially westerly winds will back to southwesterly Friday evening and will prevail through the entire period. We will see occasional enhancements to the flow as the pressure gradient oscillates between tightening and loosening as low pressure areas pass by well to our north. Overall, winds will stay sub- SCA, although gusts may approach or reach ~25 kts at times. In addition, seas generally remain in the 2-4 ft range with some 5 foot seas possible mainly on Saturday night and again late on Tuesday. Seas will initially be a combination of 1-3 ft easterly swells at 11 sec and 2-3 ft southwesterly wind waves at 4-5 sec. The easterly swells subside to 1-2 ft by late Saturday and diminish through Sunday while the southwesterly wind waves take over as the primary contributor to wave heights with a period of around 5 sec.
ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
NC...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM EDT Friday for AMZ250-252-254- 256.
Stations | Dist | Age | Wind | Air Temp | Water Temp | Waves | inHg | DewPt |
JMPN7 - 8658163 - Johnny Mercer Pier, Wrightsville Beach, NC | 13 mi | 60 min | N 12G | 54°F | 59°F | 29.83 | ||
41038 - ILM2 - 5 miles SE of Wrightsville Beach, NC | 16 mi | 112 min | NNW 19G | 55°F | 58°F | 29.85 | 51°F | |
41110 - Masonboro Inlet, NC | 16 mi | 64 min | 58°F | 3 ft | ||||
MBNN7 | 17 mi | 90 min | N 11G | 53°F | 29.80 | 53°F | ||
WLON7 | 20 mi | 60 min | 53°F | 61°F | 29.83 | |||
MBIN7 | 23 mi | 90 min | NNE 14G | 54°F | 29.79 | 53°F | ||
41037 - ILM3 - 27 miles SE of Wrightsville Beach, NC | 30 mi | 112 min | NNE 19G | 56°F | 61°F | 29.82 | 53°F | |
41064 | 38 mi | 112 min | N 21G | 58°F | 69°F | 29.80 | 56°F | |
41159 | 38 mi | 64 min | 68°F | 6 ft | ||||
41108 | 49 mi | 60 min | 55°F | 59°F | 3 ft |
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Airport Reports
EDIT (hide/show)  Help Click EDIT to display multiple airports. Follow links for more data.Airport | Dist | Age | Wind kt | Vis | Sky | Weather | Temp | DewPt | RH | inHg |
KILM WILMINGTON INTL,NC | 16 sm | 66 min | N 13G19 | 7 sm | Overcast | 54°F | 50°F | 88% | 29.82 |
Tide / Current for New Topsail Inlet, North Carolina
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New Topsail Inlet
Click for Map
Thu -- 05:05 AM EDT 0.21 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:02 AM EDT Sunrise
Thu -- 08:34 AM EDT Moonset
Thu -- 10:26 AM EDT 2.85 feet High Tide
Thu -- 04:59 PM EDT 0.23 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:28 PM EDT Sunset
Thu -- 10:40 PM EDT 3.25 feet High Tide
Thu -- 10:55 PM EDT Moonrise
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Click for Map
Thu -- 05:05 AM EDT 0.21 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:02 AM EDT Sunrise
Thu -- 08:34 AM EDT Moonset
Thu -- 10:26 AM EDT 2.85 feet High Tide
Thu -- 04:59 PM EDT 0.23 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:28 PM EDT Sunset
Thu -- 10:40 PM EDT 3.25 feet High Tide
Thu -- 10:55 PM EDT Moonrise
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
New Topsail Inlet, North Carolina, Tide feet
12 am |
2.7 |
1 am |
2.1 |
2 am |
1.5 |
3 am |
0.8 |
4 am |
0.4 |
5 am |
0.2 |
6 am |
0.4 |
7 am |
1 |
8 am |
1.7 |
9 am |
2.4 |
10 am |
2.8 |
11 am |
2.8 |
12 pm |
2.5 |
1 pm |
2 |
2 pm |
1.4 |
3 pm |
0.8 |
4 pm |
0.4 |
5 pm |
0.2 |
6 pm |
0.5 |
7 pm |
1.1 |
8 pm |
1.9 |
9 pm |
2.7 |
10 pm |
3.2 |
11 pm |
3.2 |
Wrightsville Beach
Click for Map
Thu -- 04:04 AM EDT -0.04 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:03 AM EDT Sunrise
Thu -- 08:35 AM EDT Moonset
Thu -- 09:50 AM EDT 3.13 feet High Tide
Thu -- 03:58 PM EDT 0.00 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:29 PM EDT Sunset
Thu -- 10:13 PM EDT 3.88 feet High Tide
Thu -- 10:56 PM EDT Moonrise
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Click for Map
Thu -- 04:04 AM EDT -0.04 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:03 AM EDT Sunrise
Thu -- 08:35 AM EDT Moonset
Thu -- 09:50 AM EDT 3.13 feet High Tide
Thu -- 03:58 PM EDT 0.00 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 07:29 PM EDT Sunset
Thu -- 10:13 PM EDT 3.88 feet High Tide
Thu -- 10:56 PM EDT Moonrise
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, Tide feet
12 am |
2.7 |
1 am |
1.8 |
2 am |
0.9 |
3 am |
0.2 |
4 am |
-0 |
5 am |
0.2 |
6 am |
0.8 |
7 am |
1.7 |
8 am |
2.5 |
9 am |
3 |
10 am |
3.1 |
11 am |
2.9 |
12 pm |
2.3 |
1 pm |
1.6 |
2 pm |
0.8 |
3 pm |
0.2 |
4 pm |
0 |
5 pm |
0.3 |
6 pm |
1 |
7 pm |
1.9 |
8 pm |
2.9 |
9 pm |
3.6 |
10 pm |
3.9 |
11 pm |
3.8 |
Morehead City, NC,
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