Outer Banks Pro 2013 Official Surf Forecast Update

Posted By on August 28, 2013

The 2013 Wave Riding Vehicles Outer Banks Pro surfing contest returns to Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head this Labor Day Weekend, and we have your latest updated swell report for the weekend from Surfline.

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Updated: Wednesday Afternoon, August 28th

Brief Overview:

Windswell develops during the second half of the week behind a passing frontal boundary. Windswell eases over the weekend with small surf due for the end of the waiting period.

THURSDAY 29th: Small early with developing windswell in PM
Swell/Surf: Knee high SE/ESE swell is expected early in the day. Post-frontal, short period N/NNE wind chop will develop over the second half of the day into the 1-2-3′ range, strongest late. There is the potential for bigger windswell peaks by the end of the day.
Wind/Weather: W 9-14kts during the morning. Winds turn N/NNE 12-17kts in the afternoon behind the front. Chance of showers early then becoming partly cloudy. High temperatures in the low 80s.

FRIDAY 30th: ENE windswell and underlying ESE swell leftovers
Swell/Surf: 2-3′ (thigh-waist high face heights) NE windswell with bigger peaks possible during the early part of the day depending on the strength and duration of the winds over the NW Atlantic on Thursday PM — stay tuned. Windswell does look to ease some during the second half of the day.
Wind/Weather: Winds are NE becoming ENE/E 9-14kts, easing some in PM. Mostly sunny with high temperatures around 80.

SATURDAY 31st: Developing NNE/NE wind chop and underlying ESE swell
Swell/Surf: 1-2-3′ (knee-thigh-waist high) ENE windswell is expected during the morning hours. The surf is expected to ease through the day.
Wind/Weather: ESE becoming SE 9-13kts. Mostly sunny with high temperatures in the low 80s.

SUNDAY 1st: ENE windswell and underlying ESE swell leftovers
Swell/Surf: Minor 1-2’+ (knee-thigh) ESE swell, leftover NE/ENE windswell and local wind chop mix.
Wind/Weather: Light SW early becoming S/SSW 9-13kts in the afternoon. Mostly sunny with high temperatures in the low/mid 80s.

Monday 2nd: ENE windswell and underlying ESE swell leftovers
Swell/Surf: Ankle-knee high SE/ESE swell.
Wind/Weather: SW 12-16kts bending more SSW for the afternoon with higher gusts likely. Partly cloudy with high temperatures in the mid/upper 80s.

Swell/Surf Outlook:

A frontal boundary currently extends from the Mid Atlantic coastline towards the Ohio River Valley (see Figure 1 below). This front will sag through the Outer Banks on Thursday before stalling south of the region. The latest computer model guidance suggests we will see a wave of low pressure develop along this front on Thursday off the NC coastline before moving away. It looks like this will set up an area of N/NE winds from the Outer Banks into the NW Atlantic which will result in rising N/NNE wind chop during the second half of the day on Thursday. There remains some uncertainty in exactly how strong the winds will be over the NW Atlantic during the afternoon and overnight on Thursday — we will bring you the latest updates on this as we closely monitor the situation over the next 24-36hrs. NE windswell remains in the water on Friday with the surf looking strongest during the early part of the day before starting to ease. Dropping NE/ENE windswell leftovers are expected on Saturday.

Elsewhere, we are watching an area of low pressure is currently over the NW Atlantic. This system (see Figure 1 below) will slide past Nova Scotia on Thursday. Recent satellite and buoy observations suggest the strongest winds on this system are not directed towards the Outer Banks so this system does not look like a swell producer for the region. Regardless, we will monitor the system over the next 24-36hrs for any swell potential later this week and into the weekend.

A warm front lifts through the region on Sunday and this will result in a mix of ESE swell, leftover NE/ENE windswell and local SSE/SE wind chop at Jennette’s. Small SE/ESE swell is expected on Monday.

Wind/Weather Outlook:

A frontal boundary currently extends from the Mid Atlantic coastline towards the Ohio River Valley. This front will sag through the Outer Banks on Thursday before stalling south of the region. This front lifts back north as a warm front over the weekend.
This will set up the chance for showers during the morning hours on Thursday with steady westerly winds. Moderate N/NNE winds develop behind the passing front on Thursday. Onshore NE becoming ENE/E winds are expected on Friday with mostly sunny skies.

The weather looks great for this weekend with mostly sunny skies and air temperatures in the 80s. Warmer temperatures are expected on Monday with increasing SW winds.

Next Update: Thursday Afternoon, August 29th

Figure 1 (below): Visible satellite imagery of the eastern US and western Atlantic. Low pressure off Cape Cod this afternoon will exit past Nova Scotia on Thursday and is not expected to be a significant surf producer for the region. Meanwhile, a frontal boundary that extends from the Mid Atlantic coastline towards the Ohio River Valley will impact the Outer Banks on Thursday. Windswell will develop behind this front over the second half of the week.

Outer Banks Pro 2013 Surf Forecast - Visible satellite imagery of the eastern US and western Atlantic.

Professional surf competition is scheduled to start tomorrow, August 29, running through Labor Day Monday, September 2.

Presented by Hurley as part of the Western Atlantic Surf Series, this year’s contest returns to the south side of Jennette’s Pier at Whalebone Junction in Nags Head, with a total purse of $30,00 in prize money up for grabs.

Click HERE for more on the 2013 WRV Outer Banks Pro and check back for additional updates from OBXentertainment.com all weekend!

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Posted by Matt Artz

Matt Artz was a lead reporter and photographer for 'The Coastland Times' newspaper from 2000 to 2009, and has been published in the Outer Banks Sentinel, North Beach Sun, Outer Banks Milepost, among others, before launching OBX Entertainment, NC Film News, and Halloween Daily News in 2012. Matt and Sue Artz are also the founders of the annual Outer Banks Halloween Parade and the Halloween International Film Festival.

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