Atlantic Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you—this outlook is a bit of a tough one. We're lookin' at a long stretch of small, mushy, and pretty ordinary waves on offer at Atlantic Beach (North Carolina). Most of the next couple of weeks is going to be a struggle to find anything with any real push or shape. The pickings are slim, and I mean real slim.

We kick things off with a flat spell. From Monday, September 7th, right through the following Saturday, the 12th, there's basically nothing worth paddling out for. We're talking knee-to-waist high dribble, 1ft to 3.3ft, with short, weak periods. The wind is mostly cross or cross-on, which isn't helping any of that small stuff. The combined energy is weak, mostly under 100 (19-89), which tells you all you need to know. It's a lot of effort for a mess.

Now, there's a glimmer on Sunday the 13th and into Monday the 14th. It's not big, still around 1.6ft to 2ft, but the wind finally drops out. We get a clean, cross-off breeze on Sunday morning, and then on Monday morning the 14th, it goes glassy. The swell period stretches a touch to 9-10 seconds. It's surfable, but it's pretty ordinary. If you're desperate for a slide, that Monday morning glass is your best bet. The water's a bit warmer than normal for this time of year, a touch over average, which is always nice.

After that little tease, we're back into the doldrums for the middle of the week. From the 15th to the 21st, it's more of the same—small, messy, and mostly blown out. There is a slightly bigger pulse of 3.9ft on Tuesday afternoon the 15th, but it's from the ENE with a short 6-second period and onshore wind, making it a complete closeout. The energy picks up a bit on the 22nd, Tuesday, to a moderate 132, with a 3.6ft swell, but the period is still short and it's cross-shore. It's not the good kind of energy, just a bit more chop.

So, what's the call? The absolute standout, if you can even call it that, is Monday morning, September 14th. It's the only time we get a glassy window with any waves at all. The swell is a modest 1.6ft from the SSE with a 9-second period, but the clean conditions will make it look 10 times better than it is. Get on it early, because the wind switches onshore in the afternoon and it's done.

Honestly, for the first week and a half, you might be better off looking at other things to do. The wave energy is just too weak. The second week, from the 17th on, we see a bit more offshore wind, but the waves are still tiny. Nothin' here gets my heart racing. This is a real waiting game. The forecasts can change, but as it stands, I'd be keeping the board in the car and grab a coffee instead.

Alright, that's the long and short of it. Stay patient.

Read more