Surf Forecasts:
Masonboro Inlet surf forecast from 30 Jul 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Monday 3 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 7s period, SE swell with 183 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Masonboro Inlet this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Masonboro Inlet in the next 16 days are 1.4m 7s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Aug 03) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 7s period and expected on Monday (Aug 03) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Mon 3rd Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Masonboro Inlet over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a hard look at what Masonboro Inlet's got cooking for us. I've scanned the charts, and I gotta be straight with you – it's gonna be a long, lean stretch. There's nothing in the immediate forecast, and we're looking at a quiet start that stretches for over a week. The first real glimmer of hope doesn't show up until Saturday the 8th of August, so that's a solid gap of nine days with nothing worthwhile.
The water temp is sitting at a balmy 83°F, which is pretty much right where it should be for this time of year, a very slight positive anomaly of 0.4°F – no wetsuit worries there.
Thursday, July 30th to Friday, August 7th
This is the tough part. It's flat. We're talking waves that might barely wet your ankles, with swell heights maxing out at 2ft, and most of the time it's less. The wind is a mess, mostly onshore or cross-onshore from the South and Southeast. There are a couple of glassy mornings on the 6th and 7th, but with next to no swell, a flat, glassy ocean is just a mirror. Honestly, you'd be better off with a kite on the 2nd and 3rd when the wind is a solid 19 mph from the South, turning the beach setup into a choppy mess. Not for paddling.
Saturday, August 8th – The Best (and only) Bet
Alright, here's your window. Saturday the 8th of August. It's not pumping, but it's the only game in town. We've got an early morning glass-off with light winds swinging to the South. The swell will be a tiny 2ft from the Southeast with a period of 9 seconds. The combined wave energy is weak, reading just 79, but for this spot, that's something. With glassy conditions, the waves will be clean, but they'll be small and weak. This is strictly a longboard or foamie session for the patient surfer.
Sunday, August 9th
A bit of cross-off wind from the West in the morning will clean up the 3ft swell. Again, 3ft is the biggest we see all period, but with an 8-second period, it's weak energy (82). It's surfable, but it’s a last resort.
The Rest (August 10th through 14th)
After Sunday, it's back to the same old story. The swell drops off a cliff, the wind gets messy again with thunderstorms and strong breezes. It's a write-off. The 13th has some clean cross-off wind but only 2ft of windswell – not enough to get excited about.
So, here's the bottom line: If you're desperate for a paddle, set your alarm for Saturday the 8th of August morning at Masonboro Inlet. It's the only light in the tunnel. This break is inconsistent and better for advanced surfers when it's bigger, but at these sizes, anyone can have a go. It’s also a jetty spot, and when there's any ripple, crowds are often an issue. Keep that in mind.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 30°C on Thu afternoon, min 23°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Warm (max 29°C on Sun morning, min 27°C on Sun morning). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | Monday 3 | Tuesday 4 | Wednesday 5 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSE 6 | SE 6 | ESE 9 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SSE 8 | SE 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 6 | SE 7 | S 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 25 | 39 | 0 | 183 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 31 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on |
High Tide | 9:00AM1.07m | 9:28PM1.29m | 9:37AM1.10m | 10:01PM1.26m | 10:14AM1.13m | 10:34PM1.23m | 10:55AM1.17m | 11:10PM1.19m | 11:39AM1.20m | 11:51PM1.15m | 12:30PM1.23m | 00:40AM1.09m | 1:28PM1.24m | 1:39AM1.04m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:21PM0.06m | 4:01AM0.07m | 4:00PM0.07m | 4:37AM0.06m | 4:41PM0.09m | 5:13AM0.05m | 5:23PM0.12m | 5:51AM0.05m | 6:10PM0.16m | 6:33AM0.05m | 7:04PM0.20m | 7:22AM0.06m | 8:06PM0.23m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | | | |  |  | | | | | |  | | |  | |
 | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — |
 | — | 8:14 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:12 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:08 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Temp °C | 28 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
Feels °C | 27 | 31 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | SSE 6 | S 7 | S 6 | SE 6 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SSE 8 | SE 7 | — | SSE 7 | S 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SSE 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 |
| kJ | 32 | 30 | 20 | 12 | 38 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 25 | 39 | 98 | 183 | — | 135 | 81 | 28 | 23 | 59 | 24 | 24 | 31 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 8 | — | SE 10 | SE 8 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SSW 6 | ESE 9 | SSE 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 6 | — | SE 7 | S 5 | — | — |
| kJ | 1 | — | 4 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | — | 26 | 13 | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 6 | SE 10 | — | SE 9 | — | — | ESE 9 | S 7 | SE 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | E 12 | — |
| kJ | 1 | 4 | — | 3 | — | — | 8 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | SSE 2 | SSE 6 | — | — | ESE 4 | — | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | S 7 | S 7 | SSW 6 | — | S 6 | — | — | S 5 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | 14 | — | — | 3 | — | 150 | 200 | 176 | 173 | 71 | — | 23 | — | — | 4 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 115 | 626 | 267 | 125 | 928 | 510 | 752 | 1557 | 744 | 549 | 557 | 510 | 347 | 335 | 472 | 592 | 17 | 548 | 1747 | 85 | 545 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
Latest Updates
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Masonboro Inlet surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Masonboro Inlet Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Masonboro Inlet provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Masonboro Inlet can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Masonboro Inlet surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Masonboro Inlet) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Masonboro Inlet may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Masonboro Inlet is 13 km (8 miles) from the city of Wilmington. If you plan a vacation in North Carolina, look for hotels and other accommodation in Wilmington. Wilmington has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest