Small Craft Advisory for Long Island south shore reissued Wednesday afternoon; zones run through Thursday
Update October 10 at 3:30 PM EDT: NWS Upton NY issued Small Craft Advisories for the full Long Island Sound, New York Harbor, South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay, Peconic and Gardiners Bays, and all NY Bight ocean zones from Sandy Hook NJ to Montauk Point NY out 20 NM, through October 12 at 6:00 AM EDT. New York's Long Island Sound tautog season opens October 11 inside the advisory window.
Update, Saturday October 10 at 3:30 PM EDT: NWS Upton NY issued Small Craft Advisories for Long Island Sound, New York Harbor, South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay, Peconic and Gardiners Bays, and all NY Bight ocean zones from Sandy Hook NJ to Montauk Point NY out 20 NM. All products run through October 12 at 6:00 AM EDT per the NWS Upton NY advisory headline, covering the full Columbus Day weekend departure window and the overnight window before Monday. Long Island Sound coverage spans all three Sound zones: the western zone west of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY, the mid-Sound zone from New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY to the Connecticut River mouth, and the eastern zone east of the Connecticut River mouth. New York's Long Island Sound tautog season opens October 11 inside the advisory window; Connecticut tautog opened October 10. False albacore are typically in range at Shinnecock and Montauk through mid-October. Boats launching from any LIS port, the south shore inlets, New York Harbor, or the NY Bight through Sunday night face advisory conditions. Check weather.gov/okx for the current zone forecast before any departure; the zone text for the specific departure water is the pre-launch check.
Update, Thursday October 8 at 2:28 AM EDT: NWS Upton NY re-issued the Small Craft Advisory for Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet NY out 20 nautical miles and Moriches Inlet to Montauk Point NY out 20 nautical miles, maintaining the same expiration at 2:00 PM EDT Thursday. Boats departing from Shinnecock Inlet, Moriches Inlet, or Montauk on Thursday morning face advisory conditions through early afternoon. October 9 through 11 is the last workable window ahead of the Columbus Day weekend storm; verify the zone forecast at weather.gov/okx before any departure.
Update, Wednesday October 7 at 2:28 PM EDT: NWS Upton NY issued Small Craft Advisories for two Long Island south shore zones: Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet NY out 20 nautical miles, and Moriches Inlet to Montauk Point NY out 20 nautical miles. The advisory runs through October 8 at 2:00 PM EDT. This reinstates advisory coverage for the same south shore zones that held the October 5 product, which expired by Tuesday morning. October is the core of the false albacore and striped bass run on the Long Island south shore; boats departing from Shinnecock Inlet, Moriches Inlet, or Montauk Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning face advisory conditions through the early afternoon Thursday. The pre-departure check for these zones is the NWS Upton NY marine zone forecast at weather.gov/okx.
NWS Upton NY issued Small Craft Advisories at 9:30 PM EDT Monday, October 5, for five zones in the New York area. Two zones along the Long Island south shore expire at 8:00 AM EDT Tuesday: Sandy Hook NJ to Fire Island Inlet NY out 20 nautical miles, and Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet out 20 nautical miles. The zone from Moriches Inlet to Montauk Point out 20 nautical miles expires at 11:00 AM EDT Tuesday. In Long Island Sound, the zone from New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY to the mouth of the Connecticut River, including Peconic and Gardiners Bays, expires at 8:00 AM EDT Tuesday; the zone east of the Connecticut River mouth expires at 11:00 AM EDT Tuesday. A separate earlier advisory covering New York Harbor and the western Sound expired at midnight, along with advisories for the South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay.
October is the core of the fall striper run in these waters. Fish from the Hudson estuary, Long Island Sound, and western Long Island south shore move through this zone as water temperatures drop. False albacore remain in the area through mid-October in most years. An early morning departure into the south shore ocean zones runs into advisory conditions across most of the active window Tuesday. The Peconic and Gardiners Bay advisory also covers popular fall striper and weakeye territory on the east end of Long Island. The NWS zone forecast for each specific water is the pre-launch check; advisory expiration times can change before the product runs out.
This is a conditions notice, not a go/no-go recommendation for any vessel. NWS Upton NY marine zone forecasts and active products are at weather.gov/okx.
On the water: Rules and conditions can change quickly. Confirm current regulations and official marine forecasts for your exact trip.