Hatteras Light House Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for the Hatteras area.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: it’s a pretty grim stretch of days ahead. The first week or so is looking like a write-off, with a solid run of poor surf conditions and not much to get excited about. We’re staring down the barrel of a long gap where you’re better off leaving the boards in the car.

The only break that pops up in the recommendations is Hatteras Light House, and it’s a beginner-friendly spot that’s very consistent in terms of swell exposure, but the quality just isn’t there for most of the sixteen days.

We kick off on Sunday, the 2nd of August, with a risk of thunderstorms and a strong cross-offshore breeze howling at 25 mph. The swell is coming in from the SSE at 5 ft, but with a short 6-second period. The combined energy is weak (146), and the report says it’s poor surf. That pattern continues straight through the week. Monday and Tuesday are more of the same: chest-high-ish swell from the south, but with those strong, messy winds, it’s just not clean. The water temp is sitting at 82°, which is about normal for this time of year.

Things don’t really let up. We get a small window around Saturday the 8th of August where the morning shows some “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” with a 3 ft SSE swell. The wind is light, but the energy is still very low (104). It’s not a standout, just a moment where you might get a few grovelly ones if you’re desperate.

The real kicker comes later in the second week. Hatteras Light House on Friday the 14th of August morning is the only bright spot I can see. The wind goes glassy – that’s a major win for clean conditions. The swell is tiny, only 2 ft from the east, with a 6-second period, but with the glassy conditions, it’s the cleanest the water will be. It’s still “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions,” but the lack of wind chop makes it the best option on offer. The combined energy is a paltry 42 though, so it’s really a micro-swell.

Beyond that, it’s a long, flat, and windy run. There’s a small offshore wind on Tuesday the 11th of August, but the swell is almost non-existent (3 ft at 6 seconds). Honestly, for most of this period, the setup looks more interesting for a kite than a surfboard, with that strong cross-offshore wind and poor surf quality.

So, to sum it up: the only real standout is that glassy morning on the 14th of August at Hatteras Light House. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s the cleanest we’ll get. The rest of the 16 days? You’ve got a lot of time to clean the wax off your board.

Rusty.

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