Nags Head Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's on the table for the Outer Banks over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, friend, it's a tough stretch ahead. The surf is going to be small and pretty ordinary for the most part. We’re looking at a long, quiet period with no real standout days. The water temperature is sitting right around 81°, which is about a degree and a half warmer than usual for this time of year, so a spring suit might be all you need, but you won't be needing much rubber for the waves.

For the first few days, from Monday the 31st of August right through to the end of the first week of September, the swell is tiny. We're talking ankle to knee-high at best. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-shore, making it choppy and messy. There's simply no surfable energy. The combined swell energy is weak, barely cracking 100 (24). It's a write-off for any serious paddling.

We do see a tiny spike in energy on the 3rd of September, Thursday morning. The wind goes light offshore from the WSW, cleaning things up. The swell is only 2 ft from the ESE with a 9-second period, and the combined energy is still weak (52). It's surfable, but very ordinary. You could get a few little waist-high runners at Nags Head Pier, but you’d have to work for them. It's a 'scratch around' session, not a day to get excited about.

The second week doesn't offer much relief. There's a consistent pattern of small, wind-affected surf. The winds are often strong, with a few days of fresh to strong breezes and even a risk of thunderstorms. The swell direction mostly hangs around the NE to ENE, but the size rarely gets above 3 ft, and the period is short, often below 8 seconds. This creates a lumpy, weak, and unappealing ocean. The highest combined energy we see during this period is just 184 on the 15th of September, Tuesday morning, which is still borderline moderate. That day, the swell bumps up to 5 ft from the NNE, but it's short period (6 seconds) and cross-onshore, creating a choppy, difficult mess.

Overall, this is a grim outlook. For a spot like Nags Head Pier, which is a beach/jetty setup, this kind of small, windy, and weak swell is not going to deliver. The whole 16-day window is a blank. The conditions are so poor for paddle surfing that the setup might actually be more interesting for kite surfing on some of the windier afternoons. But for a surfboard, leave it at home. When the swell is this small and the wind is this messy, it's just not worth the paddle out. The only positive is that this kind of run is normal for the area, and it tends not to stay this poor for too long. Forecasts can and will change.

Rusty.

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