Wrightsville Beach Surf Outlook: September 4 – September 10, 2026

September 4, 2026

 

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH

WB Surf Forecast

Friday, September 4 – Thursday, September 10   ·   Updated 6:00 AM Friday, September 4, 2026

BEST SHAPE Mornings through the weekend and again on Thursday

BIGGEST SURF Labor Day Monday

TIMES TO WATCH Monday PM for size; midweek for improving conditions

Conditions   Clean   ·   Semi Bumpy   ·   Choppy

Each day’s pill is split — left half is the morning session, right half is the afternoon.

Issued 6:00 AM September 4. Note: Forecast based on early Friday morning (9/4) data. While broad patterns usually hold, forecast shifts occur—verify conditions before heading out.

Friday 9/4 — Easing SE Swell

A modest SE swell is still running on the regional buoys, sitting a shade above our summertime baseline, with buoy 41110 a little over 2 ft at 9 seconds. That gives knee to thigh high surf (1–2’+) with inconsistent waist high sets at better spots early, easing as the day goes on.

Conditions are best in the morning with lighter winds and lower tide (~7:00 AM), before SSW winds pick up and add bump for the afternoon.

Saturday–Sunday 9/5–9/6 — Small, With a Front Arriving

Both days look quite small: mostly a 1–2′ mix of lingering SE swell and background windswell.

Saturday starts with light W winds that trend SW and then SSW for the afternoon. Best shape is early, and offshore flow could linger a bit longer than usual as a cold front presses into the Carolinas. The prefrontal environment will keep the area hot for another day with heat indices well into the 100s.

Sunday sees that frontal boundary drop south of our waters, with a higher chance of showers and storms for the area as well. There’s a window of decent winds early, but ENE winds develop behind the front and add surface bump by afternoon, leaving mostly knee high plus peaks by dusk.

Mornings are the target window both days for high-volume boards — best winds, lower tide. Low tides are around 8:30 AM Saturday and 9:30 AM Sunday.

Labor Day Monday 9/7 — Biggest Surf But Bumpy

High pressure builds in from the north allowing ENE winds to increase. Windswell jumps into the 3–4′ range, or around waist to chest high. It should be noted that wave model guidance has trended up for Monday afternoon and evening, so it is worth watching for a chunky session with decent size compared to the summertime norm.

Moderate ENE winds keep conditions choppy, however.

One consolation: the oppressive heat and triple-digit heat indices of Friday and Saturday give way to significantly more pleasant air by Sunday, and especially Monday, behind the front.

Tuesday–Thursday 9/8–9/10 — Fading ENE Windswell

High pressure stays anchored to our north through midweek, keeping lingering ENE windswell in the water.

Tuesday runs thigh to waist high with chest high peaks (2–4′). Moderate onshore winds keep conditions bumpy, however.

Wednesday starts a slow downtrend to thigh to waist high (2–3′) as the pulse fades. Winds and surface texture improve some through the day, but not enough to get past semi bumpy — yellow all day.

Thursday is a transitional day as high pressure slides offshore: lighter winds and cleaner conditions, particularly in the morning, with surf backing to knee to thigh high (1–2’+), with occasional waist high sets.

Long-range charts hint at another front and potential ENE pulse arriving toward next weekend or early the following week. Confidence is naturally low that far out, but it’s an encouraging sign that our seasonal fall pattern may finally be gearing up.

Tropical Update

The statistical climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is just around the corner, around September 10. Despite the calendar, the tropical Atlantic remains unseasonably quiet under El Niño conditions.

The season is far from over, however. The SE pulse sent our way by former Tropical Storm Dolly earlier this week is a good reminder that it does not take a major system to deliver fun waves to southeastern North Carolina.

Swell Recap — Tropical Storm Dolly

Wednesday into Thursday 9/2–9/3 delivered a clean, mid-period SE pulse from former Tropical Storm Dolly. It peaked at 2.6 ft at 11.1 seconds on buoy 41110 Wednesday morning, producing waist high surf with inconsistent chest high sets — a shade better than forecast.