Surf Forecasts:
Nags Head Pier surf forecast from 24 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 27 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 6s period, NE swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 28 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 6s period, S swell with 195 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 27 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 6s period with NE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Nags Head Pier this week:
The surf forecast for Nags Head Pier over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 27) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 6s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Nags Head Pier in the next 16 days are 1.8m 6s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 28) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 7s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Mon 27th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Mon 27th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 6s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Tue 28th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Nags Head Pier over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, I’m looking at the forecast for Nags Head Pier, and honestly, it’s a pretty quiet stretch ahead. We’ve got very small surf and a lot of messy conditions to deal with, so don’t expect much to work with for the next couple of weeks.
Right now, and through most of this period, the energy in the water is weak. We’re looking at combined swell energy figures mostly in the double digits – between 6 and 171 – so that’s generally weak to moderate. Swell heights hover around 2ft to 3ft, and the period is short; that 5 to 9 second range is mostly windswell, not groundswell. That means the waves will be choppy and lack punch, especially at a beach/jetty setup like Nags Head Pier.
There’s a long gap with pretty much nothing worth getting excited about. From July 24th right through to July 31st, the surf stays small and the wind is mostly cross, cross-on, or howling. The occasional clean window pops up, like Tuesday the 28th with cross-off winds, but the swell is only 1ft. That’s not enough to make a paddle worthwhile.
We finally see a little lift on August 3rd. The combined swell energy hits 156 in the morning and 142 in the afternoon, with swell height around 3ft from the ESE. These swells are still on the short side, but the wind goes light offshore from the west, so it’s the cleanest looking window in the whole forecast. This is the standout, even if it’s not big. Expect surfable 3ft peaks, with clean faces and manageable crowds. The water is sitting about 0.1° above average, so at 80° it feels normal for July.
Heads up though, this little pulse fades fast. From August 4th onward, the energy drops back into the teens and single digits, swell sizes drop below 2ft, and by the second weekend in August we’re looking at 1.0ft junk. Unless the forecast changes, the second week is a write-off for any kind of proper session.
So if you’re desperate for a wave, the August 3rd Monday morning window is the one to pencil in. Even that isn’t going to blow your hair back, but it’s as good as it gets around here for a while.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 34mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon. Warm (max 23°C on Fri afternoon, min 23°C on Fri afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Tue night. Warm (max 28°C on Tue afternoon, min 24°C on Mon afternoon). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Tue night, light winds from the NW by Wed afternoon). | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | ||||||||||||||
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) | NE 5 | SE 8 | NE 5 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 9 | E 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NE 8 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 52 | 57 | 50 | 60 | 48 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 38 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 63 | 88 | 109 | 75 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross | cross | cross | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 4:30PM1.08m | 4:39AM0.81m | 5:20PM1.09m | 5:31AM0.82m | 6:09PM1.11m | 6:22AM0.84m | 6:56PM1.14m | 7:10AM0.87m | 7:40PM1.16m | 7:56AM0.91m | 8:22PM1.17m | 8:40AM0.96m | 9:01PM1.17m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:02PM0.35m | 10:36AM0.26m | 11:53PM0.34m | 11:27AM0.25m | 00:41AM0.31m | 12:17PM0.23m | 1:26AM0.28m | 1:05PM0.21m | 2:07AM0.24m | 1:52PM0.19m | 2:46AM0.21m | 2:38PM0.18m | 3:23AM0.18m | |||||||
 |  |  | | |  | |  | | |  | |  | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — |
 | 8:14 | — | — | 8:13 | — | — | 8:12 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:10 | — | — | 8:09 | — | — | 8:08 | — |
mm | 1 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 12 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 25 |
Feels °C | 22 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 28 | 24 | 23 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | E 9 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NE 8 |
| kJ | 42 | 37 | 37 | 60 | 48 | 36 | 35 | 31 | 30 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 38 | 7 | 54 | 36 | 63 | 88 | 109 | 75 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | S 5 | — | S 6 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | NE 6 | E 9 | NNW 3 | E 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 |
| kJ | 25 | 57 | 22 | 39 | 9 | — | 2 | 34 | 33 | 19 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 41 | 43 | 31 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | S 5 | — | — | — | — | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | — | — | NE 6 | SW 4 | E 9 | E 6 | — | — | E 10 |
| kJ | — | — | 11 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 7 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 5 | S 2 | NE 5 | NE 5 | NE 5 | — | — | — | — | SSW 3 | S 4 | S 7 | WNW 3 | — | N 4 | NNE 7 | — | SE 3 |
| kJ | 52 | 42 | 50 | 1 | 41 | 23 | 23 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 35 | 193 | 2 | — | 3 | 42 | — | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 43 | 84 | 11 | 11 | 70 | 170 | 830 | 0 | 17 | 1056 | 476 | 1177 | 1177 | 94 | 17 | 43 | 94 | 170 | 265 | 49 |
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)
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 Nags Head Pier 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 Nags Head Pier Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Nags Head Pier provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Nags Head Pier can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Nags Head Pier 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 (Nags Head Pier) 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 Nags Head Pier 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.
Are you planning a vacation in North Carolina? If you are looking for accommodation near Nags Head Pier, camping, hotels and condos and appartments in North Carolina, consider staying in Elizabeth City which is 66 km (41 miles) away. Alternatively, find information about places to stay and car hire in Cape Hatteras which is 83 km (52 miles) away
Nearest