Wilmington, NC Marine Weather and Tide Forecast
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Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Wilmington, NC

May 2, 2024 6:35 PM EDT (22:35 UTC) Change Location
Sunrise 6:19 AM   Sunset 7:58 PM
Moonrise 2:07 AM   Moonset 12:55 PM 
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NOTE: Some of the data on this page has not been verified and should be used with that in mind. It may and occasionally will, be wrong. The tide reports are by xtide and are NOT FOR NAVIGATION.

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Marine Forecasts
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AMZ250 Coastal Waters From Surf City To Cape Fear Nc Out 20 Nm- 318 Pm Edt Thu May 2 2024

Through 7 pm - SE winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 ft. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 6 seconds and E 1 ft at 9 seconds.

Tonight - S winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 ft. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 6 seconds and E 1 ft at 9 seconds. Patchy fog late with vsby 1 to 3 nm.

Fri - SW winds 5 kt, becoming S in the afternoon. Seas 2 ft. Patchy nearshore and beach fog early with visibility 1 to 3 nm. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 6 seconds and E 1 ft at 11 seconds.

Fri night - S winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 ft. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 6 seconds and E 1 ft at 10 seconds.

Sat - SE winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 ft. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 6 seconds and E 1 ft at 10 seconds. A slight chance of showers in the morning.

Sat night - SE winds 10 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 6 seconds and E 1 ft at 9 seconds.

Sun - S winds 10 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Wave detail: se 2 ft at 5 seconds and E 1 ft at 9 seconds. A chance of showers.

Sun night - S winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 ft.

Mon - SW winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 ft. A chance of showers.

Mon night - SW winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft.

Tue - SW winds 10 to 15 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. A chance of showers.

Tue night - SW winds 15 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft.

AMZ200 318 Pm Edt Thu May 2 2024

Synopsis for coastal waters from surf city north carolina to south santee river south carolina out to 20 nautical miles - High pressure will move farther offshore tonight and Friday. A series of weak fronts will approach from the west and stall inland from the coast early next week, bringing a little better chance for showers or Thunderstorms.


7 Day Forecast for Marine Location Near Wilmington, NC
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Area Discussion for - Wilmington, NC
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FXUS62 KILM 021936 AFDILM

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington NC 336 PM EDT Thu May 2 2024

SYNOPSIS
Dry and warm weather will continue through Friday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop this weekend as a front approaches from the west. High pressure will build overhead by Tuesday, and our first heat wave of 2024 may develop late next week.

NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/
High pressure is situated just off the Carolina coast. Light southeast winds are being enhanced by today's seabreeze and may reach 10-15 mph at the beaches for a few hours late this afternoon.
Cumulus developing along and ahead of the seabreeze front have remained generally shallow due to copious dry air aloft, however at least a few convective showers have been able to develop near the Santee River with radar-measured echo tops near 19kft. Once the seabreeze dies away, very light to calm winds are expected overnight.

The biggest forecast concern tonight is the redevelopment of dense fog. The airmass is unseasonably humid and models show a shallow saturated surface layer developing very similarly to what we observed this morning. Fog should first develop along the coast south of Cape Fear, potentially before midnight. Low visibility will expand northward and inland after midnight, but may have some trouble making it west of Florence where the airmass will remain slightly drier. Certainty is almost high enough to raise a Dense Fog Advisory now for Horry and Georgetown counties, but I'll defer that decision to the next shift. Forecast lows tonight range from 60-65.

The fog depth should be shallow and it will burn off quickly on Friday. Expect another expansive cumulus cloud field during the afternoon and there's s slightly better potential for an isolated shower inland. Coverage should remain less than 10 percent which will not be mentioned in the forecast. Friday's forecast highs range from the upper 70s on the beaches to the upper 80s along and west of I-95.

SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/
Ridge moves offshore as a shortwave and front approach Fri night into Sat. Moisture will pool across the Carolinas in deeper southerly flow with pcp water values reaching up over 1.5 inches by Sat morning along and west of I-95 corridor. Any pcp should hold out until after daybreak on Sat, but model soundings do show mid to high clouds increasing through Fri night.
Soundings show mid to upper level moisture working its way down through the column into Sat aftn as instability increases with enhanced lift due to shortwave approaching from the west. With a southerly flow backing to the southeast on Sat, the sea breeze should see a good push inland and will remain the focal point for convection with less coverage as you move east in more stable air behind sea breeze. Coast may remain fairly dry Sat with only isolated convection and some mid to high clouds or cu present. By Sat night, showers will shift eastward with eastward moving shortwave. the coast may see there best chc of rain overnight into Sun. Some lingering shortwave energy should remain into Sun aftn with clouds and chc of convection again Sun aftn. Pcp water values increase up to 1.7 inches across the area through Sun aftn.

Increased cloud cover and moisture will keep afternoon highs in the low 80s most places and 60s for overnight lows. An approaching shortwave will maintain shower chances overnight as elevated instability remains.

LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/
Shortwave will exit the coast Sun night with ridge building back up through the Southeast coast on Monday. A moist southerly flow will remain, but expect more localized sea breeze convection Mon aftn with lack of upper level support. Another shortwave will approach late Mon with convection flaring west of I-95 by Mon eve and tracking eastward through the night and offshore by morning as ridge builds back up through the Southeasts Tues into midweek. A S-SW flow will persist around high pressure over the Atlantic with mainly just isolated convection possible on Tues with subsidence increasing aloft.
Temps will be on the rise with H5 heights rising and plenty of sunshine. Temps Mon will hold in the mid 80s with convection and clouds, but by Wed, expect to top 90. The westerly component to the flow will add to downslope flow into midweek and will keep sea breeze pinned closer to the coast.

AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
VFR conditions will continue through the afternoon and evening hours with onshore seabreeze-enhanced winds around 10 knots at the coast. The airmass is unseasonably humid, so after winds go light/calm I anticipate a high potential for IFR visibility to develop in ground fog. The KCRE airport will likely be the first local airport to experience adverse visibility, developing by 04z. Fog will almost certainly develop at the KILM and KMYR airports overnight as well. Model guidance is less certain about how far inland poor visibility will spread, but there is at least a moderate potential for IFR visibility before sunrise at KFLO and KLBT. The fog should be shallow and is expected to burn off by 13z Friday.

Extended Outlook...Early morning ground fog and low ceilings are possible Saturday and Sunday. Scattered mainly diurnal convection will bring brief visibility restrictions in heavy rain Saturday through Monday, especially inland affecting KFLO and KLBT. Lightning is also possible.

MARINE
Through Friday...High pressure will remain just off the coast for the next 24 hours. Synoptic winds of only 5 knots will be enhanced by daytime seabreeze winds resulting in nearshore speeds increasing to near 10 knots. This enhancement is ongoing now, and should develop again on Friday. Seas are currently 1-2 feet and should change little through Friday.

Friday night through Tuesday...
Southerly winds will persist around high pressure over the Atlantic through the weekend into next week. The winds will initially be more S-SE, especially as they back near shore in Sat aftn sea breeze, but by early next week a SW flow will develop and increase up to 10 to 15 kts. Seas mainly less than 2 ft through Sat will increase up to 3 to 4 ft in increasing southerly flow into next week.

ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
NC...None.
SC...None.
MARINE...None.




Weather Reporting Stations
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Stations Dist Age Wind Air TempWater Temp WavesinHgDewPt
MBNN7 3 mi65 min S 6G8 74°F 29.9771°F
JMPN7 - 8658163 - Johnny Mercer Pier, Wrightsville Beach, NC 5 mi47 min S 9.9G9.9 73°F 72°F29.98
WLON7 5 mi47 min 77°F 72°F29.96
MBIN7 8 mi65 min S 6G8 74°F 29.9871°F
41038 - ILM2 - 5 miles SE of Wrightsville Beach, NC 9 mi87 min SSE 5.8G9.7 73°F 71°F29.9967°F
41110 - Masonboro Inlet, NC 9 mi39 min 71°F2 ft
41037 - ILM3 - 27 miles SE of Wrightsville Beach, NC 31 mi87 min SE 5.8G7.8 72°F 72°F30.0167°F
41108 34 mi65 min 73°F 71°F2 ft
41024 - Sunset Nearshore (SUN 2) 41 mi87 min SSE 9.7G12 73°F 73°F29.9871°F
SSBN7 41 mi110 min 73°F2 ft
41064 49 mi87 min SSE 5.8G5.8 73°F 72°F30.0170°F
41159 49 mi39 min 71°F2 ft


Wind History for Wrightsville Beach, NC
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Airport Reports
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AirportDistAgeWind ktVisSkyWeatherTempDewPtRHinHg
KILM WILMINGTON INTL,NC 5 sm42 minS 0910 smClear79°F64°F61%29.98
KSUT CAPE FEAR RGNL JETPORT/HOWIE FRANKLIN FLD,NC 21 sm5 minSSW 0310 smClear75°F66°F74%30.00
Link to 5 minute data for KILM


Wind History from ILM
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Tide / Current for Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina
   
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Masonboro Inlet
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Thu -- 03:06 AM EDT     Moonrise
Thu -- 03:08 AM EDT     3.94 feet High Tide
Thu -- 06:20 AM EDT     Sunrise
Thu -- 09:51 AM EDT     0.31 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 01:55 PM EDT     Moonset
Thu -- 03:39 PM EDT     3.62 feet High Tide
Thu -- 07:56 PM EDT     Sunset
Thu -- 10:10 PM EDT     0.38 feet Low Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Sorry tide depth graphs only, please select another station.

Masonboro Inlet, North Carolina, Tide feet
12
am
2.3
1
am
3.1
2
am
3.7
3
am
3.9
4
am
3.8
5
am
3.3
6
am
2.6
7
am
1.7
8
am
1
9
am
0.5
10
am
0.3
11
am
0.7
12
pm
1.4
1
pm
2.3
2
pm
3.1
3
pm
3.5
4
pm
3.6
5
pm
3.3
6
pm
2.7
7
pm
1.9
8
pm
1.2
9
pm
0.7
10
pm
0.4
11
pm
0.6



Tide / Current for Campbell Island, North Carolina
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Campbell Island
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Thu -- 03:07 AM EDT     Moonrise
Thu -- 04:04 AM EDT     4.12 feet High Tide
Thu -- 06:20 AM EDT     Sunrise
Thu -- 11:19 AM EDT     0.11 feet Low Tide
Thu -- 01:55 PM EDT     Moonset
Thu -- 04:47 PM EDT     3.86 feet High Tide
Thu -- 07:56 PM EDT     Sunset
Thu -- 11:39 PM EDT     0.22 feet Low Tide
Tide / Current data from XTide NOT FOR NAVIGATION
Sorry tide depth graphs only, please select another station.

Campbell Island, North Carolina, Tide feet
12
am
1.1
1
am
2.2
2
am
3.3
3
am
3.9
4
am
4.1
5
am
4
6
am
3.5
7
am
2.6
8
am
1.8
9
am
1.2
10
am
0.6
11
am
0.1
12
pm
0.3
1
pm
1.1
2
pm
2.3
3
pm
3.2
4
pm
3.7
5
pm
3.8
6
pm
3.6
7
pm
2.9
8
pm
2
9
pm
1.3
10
pm
0.8
11
pm
0.3




Weather Map
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Wilmington, NC,



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