Chicahauk Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at what’s in store for the Outer Banks over the next couple of weeks.

Let’s be straight with you – we’re looking at a pretty flat, quiet run of things for a while. The first solid chance of getting wet won't be until the tail end of the pattern, so we’ve got a long stretch of small, messy, or downright absent surf ahead.

Right now to start things off, there’s virtually nothing doing. Through the end of July and into the first week of August, the swell is tiny and the wind is mostly from the wrong direction. We’ve got a few mornings where the wind lays down, like on the morning of the 4th and the morning of the 5th, but the swell is knee-high at best (2 ft) and super short period – six to eight seconds – so there’s just no push. The wave energy is weak (84 or less), and honestly, most sessions would be a struggle for anything more than a float.

The water temp around Chicahauk is running pretty average for this time of year, nothing out of the ordinary.

There is a tiny glimmer on Monday the 3rd of August, where we see a weak but clean offshore wind. The surf picks up to just about 3 ft from the southeast, period still short at eight seconds but the offshore breeze (SW 12 mph) will keep the surface clean. The combined energy is moderate (121 to 140), so it won't be a full-on session, but if you’re itching for a paddle, that morning and early afternoon are your best bet in this whole window.

The real standout – and the only one worth circling on your calendar – is the morning of Sunday the 9th of August. We finally see a pulse of real swell: 4 ft from the southeast, with a period bumping up to 10 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 333, which is moderate but solid for this break. It’s a sandbar setup, exposed to the east, so that southeast direction lines up okay. The wind is a light cross-onshore from the north-northeast at 6 mph, which is not perfect, but it’s manageable and keeps it from being blown out. This is the best of the run, but honestly, it’s still marginal with questionable tide conditions. Don’t expect perfection, but you might find a few workable walls.

After that, the pattern fades fast. By the 10th and 11th, we’re back to small, onshore junk with strong winds and rain showers.

So to sum it up: we’ve got a long dry spell from now right through the first week of August, a tiny clean-up on the 3rd, and one slightly better, but still average, look on the morning of the 9th. Not a classic summer run for the Banks.

Rusty.

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