Wrightsville Beach surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 5am
6–7 ft · sets to 9
GoodBest today All day (7am–7pm)
Wind is the limiting factor.
The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
Loads when it comes into view.The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
This hour
The 5am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell8.8 ft · 7 s · ENEMakes the wave: 100% of the energy. Direction at the break. Bent 9° from NE in deep water.
- Wind21 mph from the NCross-shore to a shoreline facing 124°Strong
- Tide-0.9 ft, fallingNext low -1.2 ft at 7:07am · NAVD88, NOAA 8658163 observed
- BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 12 ft of water
- Energy374 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
- Water76° · air 52° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowAll day (7am–7pm)
Against what Wrightsville Beach likesWhy it is Good, not Epic
Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.
Nearby at 5amCape Hatteras Lighthouse, S-Turns and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand, with Masonboro Inlet's jetty at the south end and Crystal Pier in the middle
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand, with Masonboro Inlet's jetty at the south end and Crystal Pier in the middle
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2019), relative to NAVD88. Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
- CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.
Why it breaks like thisOne swell, uncrossed, it bends on the way in, the seafloor is neutral here
Read from the current hour (today at 5am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
8.8 ft at 7s from the ENE and nothing significant crossing it.
A single train is the cleanest case there is: the sets arrive from one angle, so the peak should sit in the same place each time instead of wandering. Why period matters more than height
It bends on the way in
That swell leaves deep water heading 52° and reaches the break at 61°, bent 9° on the way.
Shallow water slows a wave, so the end of the crest that reaches the shallows first swings around. That is refraction. It's why this spot can be working on a swell direction the open coast is missing, and why the swell angle on a buoy is never the angle at your break. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.92 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy arrives roughly as it left deep water: this bottom neither concentrates the swell nor fans it out, so what the buoy sees is close to what you get.
Where it trips
-0.9 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 12 ft of water.
A wave breaks when the water gets shallow enough relative to its height, so that depth is a contour on the seafloor, and the tide slides the whole break up and down it through the day. Same swell, different spot, a few hours apart. How the tide moves the break
Wind is cross-shore
21 mph from the N, against a shoreline facing 124°.
Running across the face rather than into or against it. Less destructive than a straight onshore, but it puts a texture on the wall and can make the peak harder to read.
How Wrightsville Beach worksA five-kilometre island between two inlets, facing southeast
A five-kilometre island between two inlets, facing southeast — which means it takes hurricane swell straight on and is sheltered from the worst of the winter northeast. Crystal Pier holds the best banks; the Masonboro jetty at the south end is the heavier, more sought-after wave. Warm water and a real surf town around it.
- Best tidemid
- Best swellE–SE swell, S on a hurricane
- Suitsbeginner
1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Wrightsville Beach
- What is the best tide for Wrightsville Beach?
- Wrightsville Beach works best on mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
- What swell direction is best for Wrightsville Beach?
- E–SE swell, S on a hurricane suits Wrightsville Beach best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
- Is Wrightsville Beach good for beginners?
- Wrightsville Beach suits beginner surfers, over sand, with Masonboro Inlet's jetty at the south end and Crystal Pier in the middle. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
- What is the bottom like at Wrightsville Beach?
- sand, with Masonboro Inlet's jetty at the south end and Crystal Pier in the middle. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Wrightsville Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.