York River

ANZ636 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service Wakefield VA · issued Sat, Sep 26, 4:07 AM EDT

Small Craft Advisory in force. Today: N winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt. Waves 2 to 3 ft. A slight chance of rain late this morning and early afternoon. A chance of rain late.

York River 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.

Gale Warning
Small Craft Advisory

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys

Now

The nearest stations reporting each, as of Sat, Sep 26, 5:42 AM EDT.

Wind: WNW 19 kt, gusts 23 kt at YKTV2
Waves: 4.3 ft at 3 s at 44072
Water: 73°F at YKTV2

Alerts in force

Small Craft Advisory from Sat, Sep 26, 6:13 AM EDT until Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 PM EDT

Small Craft Advisory issued September 26 at 6:13AM EDT until September 26 at 10:00PM EDT by NWS Wakefield VA

The full text

* WHAT...North winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt and
waves 1 to 2 ft.

* WHERE...Rappahannock River from Urbanna to Windmill Point,
York River and James River from Jamestown to the James River
Bridge.

* WHEN...Until 10 PM EDT Saturday.

* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.

Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.

The forecast

Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service Wakefield VA, issued Sat, Sep 26, 4:07 AM EDT, valid until Sat, Sep 26, 4:30 PM EDT. Wind in knots, seas in feet.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING

Today: N winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt. Waves 2 to 3 ft. A slight chance of rain late this morning and early afternoon. A chance of rain late.
Tonight: NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt, diminishing to 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt late. Waves 2 to 3 ft, diminishing to 1 to 2 ft late. A chance of rain until early morning.
Sunday: NW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 25 kt. Waves 1 to 2 ft.
Sunday night: NW winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming W 5 to 10 kt after midnight. Gusts up to 20 kt. Waves 1 to 2 ft, diminishing to around 1 foot after midnight.
Monday: W winds 5 to 10 kt. Gusts up to 15 kt in the morning. Waves around 1 foot.
Monday night: NW winds 5 kt. Waves 1 foot or less and light chop.
Tuesday: NW winds 5 kt, becoming NE in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less and light chop.
Tuesday night: SE winds 5 kt, becoming S after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less and light chop.
Wednesday: S winds 5 kt, increasing to 5 to 10 kt in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less and light chop, increasing to around 1 foot in the afternoon.
Wednesday night: S winds 5 to 10 kt. Waves around 1 foot.

Synopsis

Synopsis for Fenwick Island DE to Currituck Beach Light NC out 60 nautical miles including Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay, Currituck Sound and portions of the James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers

Dangerous boating conditions continue today, as high pressure builds across eastern Canada and a developing nor'easter lifts offshore of the Delmarva coast. Gale force gusts are expected to continue across much of the coastal waters into this evening over the Chesapeake Bay, and through at least late tonight into early Sunday morning over the coastal waters. Storm Warnings are in effect for the offshore waters north of Cape Charles Light and for the nearshore waters north of Parramore Island through this morning. Conditions gradually improve late today and especially tonight through early next week as the weakening low pulls away from the mid-Atlantic region.

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
YKTV2 8637689 - Yorktown USCG Training Center, VA	4 nm	WNW 19 kt, gusts 23		73°F	63°F	1009.1 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 5:42 AM EDT
YRSV2 Taskinas Creek, Chesapeake Bay Reserve, VA	12 nm	WNW 5 kt			61°F	1011.0 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 5:30 AM EDT
44072 York Spit, VA	13 nm	NW 21 kt, gusts 27	4.3 ft at 3 s	72°F	63°F		Sat, Sep 26, 5:42 AM EDT
DOMV2 8638511 - Dominion Terminal Associates, VA	20 nm	NNW 19 kt, gusts 22			63°F	1009.4 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 5:42 AM EDT
WDSV2 8638614 - Willoughby Deguassing Station, VA	21 nm	NNW 15 kt, gusts 20			63°F	1008.8 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 5:42 AM EDT
44058 Stingray Point, VA	22 nm	NW 23 kt, gusts 29	3.6 ft at 3 s	70°F	63°F		Sat, Sep 26, 5:48 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	31	Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 5:12 PM EDT
Gale Warning	5	Sun, Feb 22, 2026, 4:00 PM EST
Severe Thunderstorm Watch	14	Fri, Sep 4, 2026, 2:05 PM EDT
Gale Watch	5	Sun, Feb 22, 2026, 6:00 PM EST
Tornado Watch	1	Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 10:52 AM EDT
Small Craft Advisory	63	Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT
Dense Fog Advisory	9	Mon, Mar 9, 2026, 5:51 AM EDT
Freezing Spray Advisory	3	Sat, Feb 7, 2026, 6:00 AM EST
Low Water Advisory	1	Thu, Nov 6, 2025, 1:00 AM 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

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys The hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zone Every Atlantic Coast zone

Sources

Coastal Waters Forecast CWFAKQ from National Weather Service Wakefield VA, issued Sat, Sep 26, 4:07 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 10:28 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.