Nags Head Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's break down what's happening in your local waters.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this next couple of weeks is a tough one for the Outer Banks. The wave energy is just plain weak, barely ticking over with that combined energy sitting at 57 (weak) this afternoon. Water temps are running a touch cool for July at 76°F, about 2°F colder than usual, so it's a bit of a shock to the system when you first get in.

We start off this afternoon, Thursday the 2nd of July, with a tiny 2ft ESE swell coming in at a short 7 seconds. The wind is a wonky cross-on from the SSE at 12 mph, just chopping everything up. It's a write-off, honestly. Not worth paddling out for that.

We get a bit of a tease on Friday the 3rd. Early morning, the wind swings to the WSW at a light 3 mph, giving us a clean, cross-off breeze. It's still tiny, with a 2ft ESE swell and a 7-second period. The combined energy is a measly 44 (weak). You could get wet, maybe find a little knee-high ripple, but "surfable but very ordinary" is about the best thing you can say. The rest of Friday and Saturday suffer from bumpy cross-shore winds and practically no swell.

Sunday the 5th morning is a real heartbreaker. We get glassy conditions – a flat calm SW wind at just 3 mph. The swell is a pathetic 2ft from the SE, 8 seconds. The combined energy is only 34 (weak). It's a beautiful, flat lake. Makes you want to cry. This pattern of small, weak swells and messy or onshore wind just keeps rolling through the entire first week and into the second. We're looking at a solid 16-day stretch with absolutely nothing to get excited about.

Late in the second week, we get a couple of moments that are just barely worth a mention. On Wednesday the 8th of July, the morning brings a 12 mph offshore wind from the W. Combined wave energy is 55 (weak), with a 1ft ESE swell. It's clean, but there's next to no power. Then on Thursday the 9th of July, the morning is dead calm, glassy, with a combined energy of 50 (weak). It's clean as a whistle, but you're still looking at 1ft of limp ESE swell. If you're desperate and just need to get the board under your feet, those are your windows.

But honestly, folks, this is a bleak outlook. For the whole 16 days, there is not one standout. The swell is tiny, the energy is in the weak range throughout, and the wind only lines up for a couple of brief, clean windows on swell that has no push or shape. For Nags Head Pier, a beach/jetty setup, the short-period, weak swell isn't going to hold up on the sandbars anyway.

This is one of those runs where you might wanna dig the kite out, or just take a break from the salt for a while. The water's a bit cold for July, the waves are flat, and the wind is just not helping. It can't stay this poor forever, but for now, the only thing on offer is disappointment.

Rusty.

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