Jennette's Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cooking for the next couple of weeks at the Outer Banks. It's a bit of a mixed bag, so let's get into it.

Right off the bat, we're looking at a stretch of pretty ordinary conditions. A small, short-period swell from the NE is being hammered by a moderate cross-onshore breeze, making for choppy, poor surf. At Jennette's Pier, the water is sitting at a warm 80°, running a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The combined wave energy is weak, topping out at around 144. You won’t be missing much on Tuesday and Wednesday. This low-quality run is going to stretch out for several days.

Thursday the 17th morning, the wind finally lays down – it goes glassy. The swell is tiny though, only 2 ft from the east with a short 6 second period. The energy is weak at 51. It’s the first surfable window, but conditions are very ordinary. Still, a glassy morning is a rare treat, so if you have a longboard and want to get the wettest, this could be a little moment of peace.

Friday the 18th morning sees clean conditions with a light offshore from the SW, but again the swell is tiny at 2 ft. The pickings are slim. The weekend is mostly a write-off with onshore winds and small waves.

Now, looking ahead to the rest of the week, we start to see some pulses of energy. Tuesday the 22nd afternoon has a bit more size, 4 ft from the NE, and a clean cross-offshore breeze from the SSW. The combined energy climbs to 154 – surfable waves, but still very ordinary.

The first real standout comes on Friday the 25th of September. A new swell fills in, pushing 6 ft from the north with a clean cross-offshore wind from the NNW. The combined energy jumps to 212. At Jennette’s Pier, this is the best size we’ve seen, and with clean conditions it will be worth a look. Keep in mind, the 6 ft is getting into that more challenging zone, especially for beginners. The swell direction matches the optimum NE direction pretty well. Crowds are possible here.

Then we get a bit of a lull for the end of September, with small, onshore conditions.

The window at the very end of the month and start of October gets interesting. On Tuesday the 29th, we see a jump in size to 5 ft from the NE, with a combined energy of 237. Conditions are dicey with onshore wind, but it’s on the radar. Then Wednesday the 30th brings a solid pulse: 8 ft from the NNE with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 696. This is expert territory. The strong cross-onshore wind from the NNE will make it lumpy and challenging to paddle out. The beach/jetty setup at Jennette’s Pier might be more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers on this day. It's a promising but less certain long-range call for the brave.

So, to cut through the noise: the cleanest, most solid window all period is the morning of Friday the 25th of September at Jennette’s Pier, with a clean 6 ft north swell. If you can hold out, the 5 ft on the 29th and the 8 ft on the 30th might be worthwhile but come with caveats.

Rusty

Read more