High Surf Advisory covers Coastal Brunswick NC through Sunday night; Rip Current Statements in effect for the Cape Fear and Onslow Bay coastline
Updated October 12 at 7:41 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC re-issued Small Craft Advisories for coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 NM and coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM through 8:45 AM EDT, extending the prior 8:00 AM EDT expiry by 45 minutes. Monday morning departures from Surf City, Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Cape Fear River inlets are inside active advisory conditions through mid-morning. Check weather.gov/ilm. Prior: Updated October 12 at 1:24 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC re-issued a Small Craft Advisory for coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 NM and coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM through 8:00 AM EDT Monday. The Surf City-to-Cape Fear zone, previously through 2:00 AM EDT, now runs through the Monday morning departure window. Grand Strand SCA zones (Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet; Murrells Inlet to South Santee River) are cleared. Check weather.gov/ilm before any Monday morning departure from Surf City, Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, or Cape Fear River inlets. Prior: Updated October 11 at 7:31 PM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC re-issued a Rip Current Statement for Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, Coastal Brunswick, Coastal Horry, and Coastal Georgetown through 8:45 PM EDT. Rip current risk remains elevated through Sunday evening at ocean beaches from Topsail Island through the Grand Strand. Check weather.gov/ilm. Prior: Updated October 11 at 4:28 PM EDT: NWS Charleston SC re-issued a Rip Current Statement for the Charleston SC coast through 8:00 PM EDT. Rip current risk remains elevated at Charleston-area ocean beaches through Sunday evening. Check weather.gov/chs. Prior: Updated October 11 at 2:33 PM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC issued Small Craft Advisories for offshore waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC and Cape Fear to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM through 2:00 AM EDT Monday; the Cape Fear to Little River Inlet zone has a second issuance through 8:00 AM EDT Monday. Small Craft Advisories also issued for Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC and Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC out 20 NM through 2:00 AM EDT Monday. The Grand Strand offshore corridor is inside active SCA zones overnight. Check weather.gov/ilm. Prior: Updated October 11 at 1:11 PM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC re-issued a consolidated Rip Current Statement covering Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, Coastal Brunswick, Coastal Horry, and Coastal Georgetown through 8:00 PM EDT. Rip current risk remains elevated through Sunday evening on NC and SC Grand Strand ocean beaches. Check weather.gov/ilm for NC; weather.gov/chs for SC. Prior: Updated October 11 at 11:24 AM EDT: NWS Charleston SC re-issued a Rip Current Statement for the Charleston SC coast through 7:30 PM EDT. Prior: Updated October 11 at 9:57 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC re-issued Rip Current Statements for Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, and Coastal Brunswick through 8:00 PM EDT. All Coastal Flood Advisories for the Cape Fear coast have expired. Rip current risk remains elevated through Sunday evening at ocean beaches in these three counties. Check weather.gov/ilm for NC; weather.gov/chs for Charleston SC.
Update, Monday October 12 at 7:41 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC (weather.gov/ilm) issued a Small Craft Advisory at 7:41 AM EDT for coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 NM and coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM, both through 8:45 AM EDT. The prior 1:24 AM EDT issuance had both zones expiring at 8:00 AM EDT; this re-issuance extends the window 45 minutes into the Monday morning departure period. Vessels planning a Monday morning departure from Surf City, Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Masonboro Inlet, and the Cape Fear River inlets are inside active advisory conditions through 8:45 AM EDT. Brunswick County ocean inlets — Lockwood Folly Inlet, Shallotte Inlet, Holden Beach — fall under the Cape Fear-to-Little River Inlet zone through the same expiry. Check the current zone text at weather.gov/ilm before any departure. NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Monday October 12 at 1:24 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC (weather.gov/ilm) re-issued a Small Craft Advisory at 1:24 AM EDT for coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 NM and coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM, both through 8:00 AM EDT Monday, October 12. The Surf City-to-Cape Fear zone was previously scheduled to expire at 2:00 AM EDT; this re-issuance extends it through the early Monday departure window. The Small Craft Advisories for the Grand Strand offshore corridor — Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC and Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC — have cleared as of this issuance; no follow-on advisory has been posted for those zones. Anglers planning a Monday morning departure from Surf City, Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Masonboro Inlet, or the Cape Fear River corridor should confirm the 8:00 AM EDT expiry has held and check current zone text at weather.gov/ilm before heading to the water. Brunswick County departures (Shallotte Inlet, Lockwood Folly Inlet, Holden Beach access) fall under the Cape Fear-to-Little River Inlet zone through 8:00 AM EDT. NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 7:31 PM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC (weather.gov/ilm) re-issued a Rip Current Statement at 7:31 PM EDT for Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, Coastal Brunswick, Coastal Horry, and Coastal Georgetown, running through 8:45 PM EDT. This evening re-issuance covers the same five-county zone as the 1:11 PM EDT consolidated statement. Rip current risk remains elevated through Sunday evening at ocean beaches from Topsail Island and Surf City south through Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and the Brunswick County ocean beaches, and along the South Carolina Grand Strand from North Myrtle Beach through Pawleys Island and Garden City. Shore and wading anglers at these beaches should treat rip current risk as elevated through 8:45 PM EDT. NWS Wilmington NC products are at weather.gov/ilm. This is a conditions notice; NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 4:28 PM EDT: NWS Charleston SC (weather.gov/chs) re-issued a Rip Current Statement at 4:28 PM EDT for the Charleston SC coast, running through 8:00 PM EDT Sunday. This issuance supersedes the statement issued at 11:24 AM EDT, which had run through 7:30 PM EDT. Rip current risk remains elevated at Charleston-area ocean beaches through 8:00 PM EDT. Shore and wading anglers should check current products at weather.gov/chs before entering the water. NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 2:33 PM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC (weather.gov/ilm) issued Small Craft Advisories at 2:33 PM EDT for the southern NC and northern SC offshore corridor. Coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 NM run through 2:00 AM EDT Monday, October 12. Coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM are under two separate advisories — one through 2:00 AM EDT Monday and a follow-on through 8:00 AM EDT Monday. Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 NM and from Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC out 20 NM both run through 2:00 AM EDT Monday. The Grand Strand offshore corridor — covering departure waters for Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, and North Myrtle Beach — is inside active SCA zones overnight into early Monday. Anglers planning any overnight or pre-dawn Monday departure from Cape Fear River inlets, Carolina Beach Inlet, or Grand Strand offshore access should check weather.gov/ilm for current zone text before departing. NWS Wilmington NC marine products are at weather.gov/ilm. This is a conditions notice; the zone text for the specific departure water is the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 1:11 PM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC (weather.gov/ilm) re-issued a consolidated Rip Current Statement at 1:11 PM EDT covering all five county zones through 8:00 PM EDT Sunday: Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, Coastal Brunswick, Coastal Horry, and Coastal Georgetown. This issuance supersedes the separate statements from 9:57 AM EDT and covers the full NC and SC Grand Strand ocean beach corridor in a single product. Rip current risk remains elevated through Sunday evening at ocean beaches in Topsail Island, Surf City, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Brunswick County (Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Oak Island), and the Grand Strand from North Myrtle Beach through Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, and Garden City. Shore and wading anglers at these beaches should treat rip current risk as elevated through 8:00 PM EDT. NWS Wilmington NC products are at weather.gov/ilm; NWS Charleston SC products are at weather.gov/chs. This is a conditions notice; NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 11:24 AM EDT: NWS Charleston SC (weather.gov/chs) re-issued a Rip Current Statement at 11:24 AM EDT for the Charleston SC coast, running through 7:30 PM EDT Sunday. Rip current risk remains elevated through Sunday evening at Charleston-area ocean beaches. Shore and wading anglers should treat rip current risk as elevated and check current products at weather.gov/chs. NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 9:57 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC re-issued Rip Current Statements at 9:57 AM EDT for Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, and Coastal Brunswick, running through 8:00 PM EDT. A Coastal Flood Advisory was also issued at 9:57 AM EDT for the same three counties and expired at 10:00 AM EDT. All Coastal Flood Advisories for the Cape Fear coast and the Onslow Bay coastline are now expired. The Rip Current Statements covering Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Surf City, and the Brunswick County beaches (Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Oak Island) remain in effect through Sunday evening. Shore and wading anglers at these beaches should treat rip current risk as elevated through 8:00 PM EDT. NWS Wilmington NC products are at weather.gov/ilm. This is a conditions notice; NWS products are the pre-launch check.
Update, Sunday October 11 at 8:07 AM EDT: NWS Wilmington NC cancelled the High Surf Advisory for Coastal Brunswick NC at 8:07 AM EDT. The advisory was issued at 1:47 AM EDT and originally scheduled to run through 11:00 PM EDT. Rip Current Statements remain in effect through 8:00 PM EDT Sunday for Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, and Coastal Brunswick NC, covering Topsail Island, Surf City, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Oak Island, Holden Beach, and Ocean Isle Beach. The Rip Current Statements for Coastal Horry and Coastal Georgetown SC, covering North Myrtle Beach through Pawleys Island and Garden City, also remain in effect through 8:00 PM EDT. Coastal Flood Advisories for Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, Coastal Horry, and Coastal Georgetown expire at 10:00 AM EDT; the Inland New Hanover advisory runs through 1:00 PM EDT. Shore and wading anglers along the lower Cape Fear coast and the Grand Strand should treat rip current risk as elevated through Sunday evening. NWS Wilmington NC products are at weather.gov/ilm. This is a conditions notice; NWS products are the pre-launch check.
NWS Wilmington NC (weather.gov/ilm) issued a High Surf Advisory for Coastal Brunswick NC at 1:47 AM EDT Sunday, October 11, running through 11:00 PM EDT. The advisory covers the Brunswick County ocean shore from Sunset Beach through Oak Island and Holden Beach. Rip Current Statements are in effect through 8:00 PM EDT Sunday for Coastal Pender and Coastal New Hanover, covering Topsail Island, Surf City, Wrightsville Beach, and Carolina Beach. The Rip Current Statements carry a Moderate severity designation.
Coastal Flood Advisories issued at 1:47 AM EDT cover Coastal Brunswick, Coastal Pender, Coastal New Hanover, and Inland New Hanover, plus Coastal Horry and Coastal Georgetown counties in South Carolina. Most expire by 10:00 AM EDT; the Inland New Hanover advisory runs through 1:00 PM EDT. Minor inundation in low-lying waterfront areas at high tide cycles is forecast; boat ramp approaches and waterfront access roads may see standing water through mid-morning.
These advisories follow the same system driving Small Craft Advisories and Gale Warning conditions along the mid-Atlantic corridor north of the Outer Banks. Ocean departures from Brunswick County and New Hanover County inlets are inside active advisory zones through Sunday. Inlet bar conditions at Lockwood Folly Inlet, Shallotte Inlet, and Masonboro Inlet may differ from the zone forecast after a major swell event; a marina call is the right bar check. The zone text for the specific departure water is at weather.gov/ilm. This is a conditions notice; NWS products are the pre-launch check.
On the water: Rules and conditions can change quickly. Confirm current regulations and official marine forecasts for your exact trip.