Small Craft Advisory re-issued for Chesapeake Bay upper Bay through Smith Point; NWS Baltimore extends coverage through Thursday
Updated October 9 at 9:58 PM EDT: NWS Wakefield VA re-issued Small Craft Advisories for lower Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point through New Point Comfort to Little Creek through 7:00 PM EDT Sunday, October 11; Little Creek to Cape Henry and Virginia coastal zones through 4:00 AM EDT Sunday. NWS Baltimore advisories cover the entire upper and central Bay through 7:00 PM EDT Sunday. Columbus Day weekend departures from Bay ramps face advisory conditions through Sunday evening. Check weather.gov/akq (Wakefield) and weather.gov/lwx (Baltimore) before launching.
Update, Friday October 9 at 9:58 PM EDT: NWS Wakefield VA re-issued Small Craft Advisories at 9:58 PM EDT Friday for lower Chesapeake Bay and Virginia coastal zones. Three lower Bay zones — Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, and New Point Comfort to Little Creek VA — run through 7:00 PM EDT Sunday, October 11. The Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel runs through 4:00 AM EDT Sunday. Virginia ocean zones from Parramore Island to Cape Charles Light and Cape Charles Light to the Virginia-North Carolina border run through 4:00 AM EDT Sunday. The coastal zone from the North Carolina-Virginia border to Currituck Beach Light NC out 20 nautical miles is in effect through 12:00 AM EDT Sunday. These lower Bay and Virginia coastal zones extend through the same Columbus Day weekend window already under advisory for NWS Baltimore zones to the north. Departures from Virginia Bay ports, Hampton Roads ramps, and Virginia Beach inlets should confirm current NWS Wakefield products at weather.gov/akq before launching. This is a conditions notice; the zone text for the specific departure water is the pre-launch check.
Update, Friday October 9 at 7:36 PM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC issued new Small Craft Advisories at 7:36 PM EDT Friday, October 9, for the entire Chesapeake Bay and connected tidal waters. The NWS headline carries all zones through 7:00 PM EDT Sunday, October 11. Upper Bay coverage: Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD, Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD, Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor, and Chester River to Queenstown MD. Central Bay coverage: Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD, Tidal Potomac from Indian Head to Cobb Island MD, Eastern Bay, Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, and Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD. Lower Bay and lower Potomac: Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA, Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, and Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island. A Small Craft Advisory indicates sustained winds of 21 to 33 knots or combined seas of 7 feet or more. The advisories cover the full Bay corridor through Sunday evening, Columbus Day weekend, the most active fall striper departure window on the Chesapeake. Bay anglers planning Saturday or Sunday trips should confirm current zone products at weather.gov/lwx before leaving the dock; re-issuances are possible as the event develops. This is a conditions notice; the zone text for the specific departure water is the pre-launch check.
Update, Thursday October 8 at 5:30 PM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC re-issued a Small Craft Advisory at 5:30 PM EDT for the Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD, the Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, the Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD, and the Patapsco River including Baltimore Harbor, in effect through 6:30 PM EDT Thursday, October 8. The re-issuance carries those upper Bay zones forward past the 6:00 PM EDT expiration set in the October 7 evening issuance and completes advisory coverage through early Thursday evening for the upper Bay and Baltimore Harbor zone. Upper Bay advisory conditions have been continuous since the October 5 initial issuance. The Columbus Day weekend storm will bring new advisory conditions to Bay waters starting this weekend; current zone products are at weather.gov/lwx.
Update, Thursday October 8 at 12:39 AM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC re-issued a Small Craft Advisory combining the central Bay, Tidal Potomac, and Choptank River zones into a single product. The advisory covers the Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, the Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD, the Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, and the Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, all through 6:00 AM EDT Thursday, October 8. This product supersedes the two separate 9:31 PM EDT advisories for those zones, which had a 5:45 AM EDT expiration. Upper Bay zones north of Pooles Island, including the Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor, remain covered through 6:00 PM EDT Thursday under the prior issuance. Current zone products are at weather.gov/lwx.
Update, Wednesday October 7 at 9:31 PM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC re-issued Small Craft Advisories for the upper Bay and eastern Bay zones. The Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD, including the Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor, the Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD, and the Tidal Potomac from Key Bridge to Indian Head MD run through 6:00 PM EDT Thursday, October 8. The Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River are under advisory through 6:00 AM EDT Thursday. The Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA and Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island run through 8:00 AM EDT Thursday. Anglers planning a Thursday departure from the upper Bay, Baltimore Harbor, or the Choptank area should confirm advisory status at weather.gov/lwx before leaving the dock.
Update, Wednesday October 7 at 8:31 PM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC re-issued Small Craft Advisories for the central Bay and Tidal Potomac zones. The re-issuance covers the Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, the Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD, and the Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, all through 6:00 AM EDT Thursday, October 8. The expiration is unchanged from the 5:03 PM issuance documented below. Bay anglers planning an early Thursday departure in these central Bay or Potomac zones should confirm advisory status at weather.gov/lwx before leaving the dock.
Update, Wednesday October 7 at 5:03 PM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC issued new Small Craft Advisories for the Chesapeake Bay and connected tidal waters. The upper Bay zones (Chesapeake Bay north of Pooles Island MD, including Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor, and Chesapeake Bay from Pooles Island to Sandy Point MD) run through 6:00 PM EDT Thursday, October 8. The central Bay zones (Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point to North Beach MD, Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD, and the Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA) run through 6:00 AM EDT Thursday. The Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA and Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island run through 8:00 AM EDT Thursday. These are new advisories separate from the October 5 and 6 products documented below. Bay anglers running Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning in any of these zones should check the current NWS Baltimore zone forecast at weather.gov/lwx before departing.
Update, October 6 at 8:13 AM EDT: NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC issued a new Small Craft Advisory for central Chesapeake Bay zones through 11:00 AM EDT Tuesday. The advisory covers the Chesapeake Bay from North Beach to Drum Point MD, the Chesapeake Bay from Drum Point MD to Smith Point VA, the Tidal Potomac from Cobb Island MD to Smith Point VA, the Choptank River to Cambridge MD and the Little Choptank River, and Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island. Morning anglers on the central Bay and the lower Potomac remain under advisory conditions through late morning.
NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC issued a Small Craft Advisory at 8:54 PM EDT Monday, October 5, for the central and lower Chesapeake Bay. Zones covered run from north of Pooles Island southward through Smith Point VA, and include the Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor, Chester River to Queenstown MD, Eastern Bay, Choptank River to Cambridge MD, the Little Choptank River, Patuxent River to Broomes Island MD, and Tangier Sound and the inland waters surrounding Bloodsworth Island. The advisory expires at 6:00 AM EDT Tuesday, October 6. A separate advisory for Tidal Potomac zones from Key Bridge to Cobb Island MD, issued at the same time, was set to expire at 10:00 PM EDT Monday.
Update, October 6 at 3:13 AM EDT: NWS Wakefield VA issued a Small Craft Advisory for four lower Bay zones south of Smith Point, covering the Bay from Smith Point to Windmill Point VA, Windmill Point to New Point Comfort VA, New Point Comfort to Little Creek VA, and Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. That advisory expires at 10:00 AM EDT Tuesday. NWS Wakefield also issued a Small Craft Advisory for coastal waters from Cape Charles Light to the Virginia-North Carolina border out 20 nautical miles and from the NC-VA border to Currituck Beach Light NC out 20 nautical miles, also expiring at 10:00 AM EDT Tuesday.
October puts the Bay striper season in a productive window, with fish moving from upper Bay tributaries toward the main stem and lower Bay as water temperatures drop. The lower Bay zones from Windmill Point southward through the Bay Bridge Tunnel area are within the morning tide window for anglers out of Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, and the lower Bay. Boats departing those ports for early tide should check the NWS Wakefield zone forecast after the 10 AM expiration before launching into the outer Bay or coastal waters.
This is a conditions notice, not a go/no-go recommendation for any vessel. NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC marine products and zone forecasts for central and upper Bay zones are at weather.gov/lwx. NWS Wakefield VA marine products for lower Bay and Virginia coastal zones are at weather.gov/akq.
On the water: Rules and conditions can change quickly. Confirm current regulations and official marine forecasts for your exact trip.