Nags Head Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you: the next 16 days at Nags Head Pier are looking mighty flat and pretty grim. We're in for a long stretch of tiny, weak waves and bumpy conditions, so don't get your hopes up for anything epic.

First up, the water temp is sitting pretty at a warm 80°F, which is just about average for this time of year, so at least you won't freeze while you're sitting out there waiting for nothing.

Wednesday, August 5th kicks things off with a measly 2ft swell from the southeast, but it's only packing a weak 6-second period. The energy is basically nothing (44), and a stiff 15 mph south wind in the afternoon is going to chop it up into a messy cross-shore slop. Thursday and Friday, August 6th and 7th, offer a tiny bit of hope with some clean morning windows under light offshore winds, but the swell is even smaller at 2ft. It's the kind of day where you can paddle out on a longboard and maybe catch a knee-high roller, but it's nothing to write home about.

The whole weekend and into the next week, from August 8th through the 14th, is a write-off. Swell drops to 0.7ft to 1ft, the energy readings are pitiful (single digits to low 30s), and the wind is either cross or cross-off, rarely giving us a clean, glassy window. The morning of Sunday, August 9th, has a brief offshore breeze, but with only 1ft of swell, there's just nothing to push you along.

We hit a real dead zone from August 15th to the 16th, with swell barely registering at 0.3ft to 0.7ft. The morning of Sunday, August 16th, is glassy flat – you could water-ski, but you can't surf it.

Things finally start to show a pulse on Monday, August 17th. The swell bumps up to 2ft from the southeast with a 9-second period, and the energy climbs to 75. It's still weak, but it's the best we've seen. The problem is a 15 mph north-northeast wind is going to make it choppy and cross-shore, so the quality will be poor. This pattern of tiny, wind-affected waves continues through to the end of the forecast on August 20th.

The Bottom Line: There's nothing here that qualifies as a standout. The best of a bad bunch is the early mornings of August 6th, 7th, and maybe the 9th, when you'll find clean but tiny waves. For anyone with a kite, those strong afternoon south winds might be more interesting than trying to paddle. Honestly, it's a good time to check the forecast again in a few days.

Stay patient, gang.

Rusty

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