Albemarle Sound
Today: W winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
Albemarle Sound on the map
The zone and the zones around it, tinted where a marine warning or advisory is in force. Tap a neighboring zone to open its forecast.
Now
The nearest stations reporting each, as of Mon, Sep 28, 5:00 AM EDT.
- Wind
- WNW 7 kt, gusts 9 kt at DUKN7
- Waves
- 1.6 ft at 11 s at 44056
- Water
- 70°F at 44056
Alerts in force
No marine warning or advisory is in force for this zone.
What is normally issued here: in the past year NWS Newport/Morehead City, NC issued 53 Special Marine Warnings, 13 Gale Warnings, 1 Storm Warning, 8 Gale Watches for this zone.
The forecast
Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC, issued Mon, Sep 28, 3:15 AM EDT, valid until Mon, Sep 28, 4:15 PM EDT. Wind in knots, seas in feet.
- Today
- W winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Tonight
- S winds around 5 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Tuesday
- NE winds around 5 kt, becoming E in the afternoon. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Tuesday night
- E winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Wednesday
- E winds around 5 kt, increasing to 5 to 10 kt in the afternoon. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Wednesday night
- SE winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Thursday
- S winds around 5 kt, becoming SE in the afternoon. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Thursday night
- S winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Friday
- SW winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves 1 ft or less.
- Friday night
- S winds 5 to 10 kt, becoming W after midnight. Waves 1 ft or less.
Synopsis
Synopsis for Eastern North Carolina coastal waters
A noticeably lower impact period for boaters is expected for the remainder of this week.
Buoys and stations nearby
The latest report from each station within reach of the zone, nearest first. Distances in nautical miles from the middle of the zone.
| Station | Distance | Wind | Waves | Water | Air | Pressure | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUKN7 8651370 - Duck Pier, NC | 23 nm | WNW 7 kt, gusts 9 | 64°F | 1010.9 hPa | Mon, Sep 28, 4:48 AM EDT | ||
| 44056 Duck FRF, NC | 25 nm | 1.6 ft at 11 s from ENE | 70°F | 64°F | Mon, Sep 28, 5:00 AM EDT | ||
| 44100 Duck FRF 26m, NC (430) | 31 nm | 2.3 ft at 11 s from NE | 71°F | 65°F | Mon, Sep 28, 5:00 AM EDT | ||
| ORIN7 8652587 - Oregon Inlet Marina, NC | 34 nm | NW 7 kt, gusts 9 | 70°F | 64°F | 1011.3 hPa | Mon, Sep 28, 4:48 AM EDT | |
| 44086 Nags Head, NC (243) | 37 nm | 3.0 ft at 11 s from NE | 71°F | 66°F | Mon, Sep 28, 5:00 AM EDT | ||
| 44095 Oregon Inlet, NC (192) | 45 nm | 3.3 ft at 10 s from ENE | 72°F | Mon, Sep 28, 4:26 AM EDT |
The past year
Warnings, watches and advisories the National Weather Service issued for this zone over the past 12 months, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet’s archive.
| Product | Issued | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Special Marine Warning | 53 | Fri, Sep 4, 2026, 6:05 PM EDT |
| Gale Warning | 13 | Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT |
| Storm Warning | 1 | Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 4:00 PM EST |
| Gale Watch | 8 | Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT |
| Severe Thunderstorm Watch | 6 | Sat, Sep 5, 2026, 4:14 PM EDT |
| Storm Watch | 1 | Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 7:00 PM EST |
| Tornado Watch | 1 | Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 1:20 PM EDT |
| Small Craft Advisory | 52 | Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 6:19 AM EDT |
| Dense Fog Advisory | 6 | Fri, Mar 6, 2026, 4:56 PM EST |
| Freezing Spray Advisory | 1 | Sat, Feb 7, 2026, 5:00 PM EST |
What this means
Marine forecasts give wind in knots (1 knot is 1.15 mph) and seas in feet, except the high seas forecasts, which give seas in meters. Seas are the significant wave height, the average of the highest third of the waves; individual waves may be more than twice that. On the Great Lakes the forecast gives waves, not seas. "Wave Detail" splits the seas into the wind waves and each swell, with its direction and period.
Each coastal office writes a Coastal Waters Forecast for the bays, sounds and ocean out to 20 to 60 nautical miles, or on the Great Lakes a Nearshore Marine Forecast within 5 nautical miles of shore; the Open Lakes Forecast covers the rest of each lake. The Ocean Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center write the Offshore Waters Forecasts out to about 250 nautical miles, and the High Seas Forecasts beyond. Forecasts are issued at least twice a day and updated when they go wrong.
- Small Craft Advisory
- Winds or conditions hazardous to small boats. The thresholds are set by each NWS region: typically sustained winds or frequent gusts of 20 to 25 knots up to 33 knots, and seas of 5 to 7 feet or more.
- Gale Warning
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 34 to 47 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
- Storm Warning
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 48 to 63 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
- Hurricane Force Wind Warning
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 64 knots or more, not from a tropical cyclone.
- Special Marine Warning
- A thunderstorm or squall over the water with winds or gusts of 34 knots or more, hail of 3/4 inch or more, or a waterspout, for up to two hours.
- Hazardous Seas Warning
- Wave heights or steepness at or above the office’s warning threshold, when the wind alone does not warrant a warning.
- Heavy Freezing Spray Warning
- Spray freezing on a vessel at 2 cm (3/4 inch) an hour or more.
- Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings
- Tropical storm (34 to 63 knots) or hurricane (64 knots or more) conditions expected within 36 hours. Watches: possible within 48 hours.
Nearby
- Alligator River
- Croatan and Roanoke Sounds
- Currituck Sound
- Coastal waters from NC VA border to Currituck Beach Light NC out 20 NM
- S of Currituck Beach Light NC to Oregon Inlet NC out to 20 NM
- Pamlico Sound
- Pamlico and Pungo Rivers
- Coastal Waters from Cape Charles Light to Virginia-North Carolina border out 20 NM
- S of Oregon Inlet NC to Cape Hatteras NC out to 20 NM
- James River from JRB to HRBT, Including the Elizabeth River
Open the live map with marine zones and buoysThe hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zoneEvery Atlantic Coast zone
Sources
Coastal Waters Forecast CWFMHX from National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC, issued Mon, Sep 28, 3:15 AM EDT. Original at NWS. Buoy reports from the National Data Buoy Center. Past products from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Zone outlines from the NWS marine and offshore zone boundaries. Warnings and advisories from the NWS API, read 10:00 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.