North Topsail Beach · Onslow County · North Carolina
North Topsail Beach Surf Report & Forecast, North Carolina
North Topsail Beach, North Carolina: 2 ft, knee to waist high, at 3 am EST on Tuesday, Nov 10, rated Fair. The main swell is 1.4 ft at 11 seconds from the east-southeast, with calm wind. Water is about 68°F, so a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 4.7 ft at 7:28 am.
2 ft
knee to waist high · occasional 3 ft
- Swell
- 1.4 ft · 11 s · ESEplus 0.4 ft · 3 s · SSW
- Wind
- calmcalm
- Tide
- 1.2 ft risinghigh 4.7 ft at 7:28 am
- Water
- 68°F3/2
- Air
- 58°Ffeels like 52°F
- Sun
- rise 6:38 amset 5:09 pm
North Topsail Beach surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at North Topsail Beach: 7 am, Fair, on a falling high tide.
Blue band: surf face height from the low end to set waves; dotted: occasional larger sets. Grey line: tide, in feet on the right scale. Colour strip: the hourly rating. Arrows: wind direction and strength, teal when offshore, orange when onshore.
Best-rated hour tomorrow at North Topsail Beach: 8 am, Poor, on a falling high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2 ft | Fair | 4 mph offshore (NNW) | 4.2 ft |
| 7 am | 2 ft | Fair | 4 mph offshore (NNW) | 4.6 ft |
| 8 am | 2 ft | Fair | calm | 4.6 ft |
| 9 am | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | calm | 4.1 ft |
| 10 am | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | calm | 3.3 ft |
| 11 am | 2 ft | Fair | calm | 2.3 ft |
| 12 pm | 2 ft | Fair | 5 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 1.3 ft |
| 1 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 11 | 0.6 ft |
| 2 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 13 | 0.4 ft |
| 3 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 14 | 0.7 ft |
| 4 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 8 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 15 | 1.4 ft |
| 5 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 9 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 15 | 2.2 ft |
| 6 pm | 2 ft | Poor to Fair | 9 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 16 | 3.0 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 3.7 ft |
| 7 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 4 mph offshore (NW) | 4.4 ft |
| 8 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 4.8 ft |
| 9 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 4.6 ft |
| 10 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 4.0 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 3.1 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 4 mph onshore (S) | 2.2 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph onshore (S) | 1.4 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph onshore (S) | 0.9 ft |
| 3 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph onshore (S) | 0.8 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (S) | 1.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (S), gusts 12 | 1.9 ft |
| 6 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 8 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 13 | 2.7 ft |
North Topsail Beach waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 3 am, sets at North Topsail Beach arrive about every 2 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and punchy.
- Set waves
- about 2.1 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 2 minutes or so, each lasting about 13 s
- Lulls
- about 85 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Punchywhich means steep takeoffs and a pitching lip
- Breaking
- 10% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.4 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
North Topsail Beach surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at North Topsail Beach: the biggest day is Tuesday, Nov 10 at 2 ft, and the best-rated day is Tuesday, Nov 10 (Fair). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, flat (under 1 ft) and Poor; Sunday, Nov 15, flat (under 1 ft) and Poor.
Fri, Nov 20 – Wed, Nov 25
Days 11–16 for North Topsail Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription.
Bars: surf face height from the low end to set waves, by day. Colour strip: the day's best rating. Arrows: main swell direction. Shaded: this weekend.
The 10-day forecast as a table, with swell and wind
| Day | Surf | Rating | Main swell | Wind am | Wind pm | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | 2 ft | Fair | 1.4 ft · 11 s · ESE | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 13 | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 1.1 ft · 10 s · ESE | calm | 7 mph onshore (S) | 8 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 1–2 ft | Poor to Fair | 2.7 ft · 5 s · SSW | 11 mph cross-shore (SW), gusts 18 | 16 mph cross-shore (WSW), gusts 28 | 6 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 0.7 ft · 6 s · SSW | 12 mph offshore (NW), gusts 21 | 12 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 20 | 5 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | — | 13 mph offshore (NW), gusts 22 | 15 mph offshore (NW), gusts 26 | 10 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.2 ft · 8 s · SE | 9 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 16 | 8 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 16 | 1 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 0.4 ft · 8 s · SE | 8 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 14 | 8 mph offshore (N), gusts 14 | 1 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 1 ft | Poor | — | 11 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 20 | 7 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 13 | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1 ft | Poor | — | 11 mph cross-shore (N), gusts 23 | 9 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 1 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 1 ft | Poor | — | 10 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 21 | 9 mph cross-shore (ENE) | 1 pm |
| Fri, Nov 20 – Wed, Nov 25 | Days 11–16 for North Topsail Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
North Topsail Beach tide chart and tide times
Tides at North Topsail Beach today, Tuesday, Nov 10: low 0.2 ft at 1:04 am, high 4.7 ft at 7:28 am, low 0.4 ft at 1:57 pm and high 3.6 ft at 7:42 pm. At 3 am the tide is 1.2 ft and rising.
North Topsail Beach tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 0.2 ft at 1:04 amHigh 4.7 ft at 7:28 amLow 0.4 ft at 1:57 pmHigh 3.6 ft at 7:42 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 0.4 ft at 1:42 amHigh 4.8 ft at 8:09 amLow 0.8 ft at 2:38 pmHigh 3.7 ft at 8:20 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 0.7 ft at 2:24 amHigh 4.7 ft at 8:48 amLow 0.9 ft at 3:23 pmHigh 3.6 ft at 9:05 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | Low 0.9 ft at 3:03 amHigh 4.7 ft at 9:33 amLow 1.3 ft at 4:06 pmHigh 3.7 ft at 9:45 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Low 1.2 ft at 3:54 amHigh 4.5 ft at 10:14 amLow 1.2 ft at 4:58 pmHigh 3.3 ft at 10:34 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Low 1.0 ft at 4:44 amHigh 4.1 ft at 11:04 amLow 1.1 ft at 5:44 pmHigh 3.2 ft at 11:29 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | Low 1.1 ft at 5:38 amHigh 3.9 ft at 11:53 amLow 0.9 ft at 6:34 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 3.2 ft at 12:27 amLow 1.1 ft at 6:35 amHigh 3.8 ft at 12:44 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
North Topsail Beach water temperature
The water temperature at North Topsail Beach is about 68°F on Tuesday, Nov 10. With the air feeling like 52°F and a 3 mph wind, a 3/2 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 66 and 70°F.
Water temperature is a forecast for the water at this spot, not a buoy reading. The wetsuit suggestion uses Billabong's wetsuit temperature scale, adjusted for air temperature and wind.
Surf spots near North Topsail Beach
- Surf City Pier9.0 mi WSW · 2 ft · Fair
- Topsail Beach15 mi SW · 1–2 ft · Poor to Fair
- The Point21 mi ENE · 1–2 ft · Poor
- Bogue Inlet Pier24 mi ENE · 1 ft · Poor
- Figure Eight Island25 mi SW · 2–3 ft · Fair
- Mason's Inlet27 mi SW · 2–3 ft · Fair
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
About North Topsail Beach
North Topsail Beach is a beach break in North Topsail Beach, Onslow County, North Carolina, facing southeast. Also called NTB.
Follow North Topsail Beach in the Current app
The first 10 days are free, and Premium adds days 11–16.
Forecasts are estimates. Never rely on them for safety. For rip current risk and beach hazards, check the National Weather Service. Forecasts from Current's novel physics simulation. No AI. No black boxes. Ocean and weather data: NOAA (U.S. government data). NOAA does not endorse this site.