Sunset Beach · Brunswick County · North Carolina
Sunset Beach Surf Report & Forecast, North Carolina
Sunset Beach, North Carolina: 1 ft, knee high, at 3 pm EST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Poor. The main swell is 0.9 ft at 11 seconds from the southeast, with a 5 mph cross-shore wind from the west. Water is about 68°F, so a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 4.2 ft at 7:12 pm.
1 ft
knee high
- Swell
- 0.9 ft · 11 s · SEplus 0.7 ft · 3 s · WSW
- Wind
- 5 mph (W)cross-shore
- Tide
- 0.7 ft risinghigh 4.2 ft at 7:12 pm
- Water
- 68°F2mm springsuit
- Air
- 70°Ffeels like 73°F
- Sun
- rise 6:40 amset 5:15 pm
Sunset Beach surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at Sunset Beach: 6 am, Good, on a rising 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 Sunset Beach: 10 am, Poor, on a falling high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1–2 ft | Good | 9 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 5.0 ft |
| 7 am | 1–2 ft | Fair | 8 mph offshore (WNW) | 5.3 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Fair | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 4.9 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Fair | 8 mph offshore (WNW) | 4.0 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Poor | 8 mph offshore (WNW) | 2.8 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 1.5 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (W) | 0.4 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph cross-shore (W) | -0.1 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 0.0 ft |
| 3 pmnow | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (SW) | 0.7 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Fair | 7 mph cross-shore (SW) | 1.8 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (SW) | 2.9 ft |
| 6 pm | 1 ft | Poor to Fair | 6 mph cross-shore (SW) | 3.8 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 4.3 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 4.9 ft |
| 8 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 5.0 ft |
| 9 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 4.5 ft |
| 10 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 3.5 ft |
| 11 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 2.3 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 5 mph onshore (SSW) | 1.1 ft |
| 1 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 0.3 ft |
| 2 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 0.0 ft |
| 3 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 8 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 14 | 0.3 ft |
| 4 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 9 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 14 | 1.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 9 mph onshore (SSW), gusts 15 | 2.3 ft |
| 6 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 10 mph cross-shore (SSW), gusts 15 | 3.3 ft |
Sunset Beach waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 3 pm, sets at Sunset Beach arrive about every minute with about 3 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and soft.
- Set waves
- about 1.2 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 3
- Sets
- every minute or so, each lasting about 3 s
- Lulls
- about 19 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Softwhich means mostly mellow, with occasional steeper sections
- Breaking
- 5% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- light, about 0.3 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
Sunset Beach surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at Sunset Beach: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 9 at 1–2 ft, and the best-rated day is Monday, Nov 9 (Good). This weekend: Saturday, Nov 14, flat (under 1 ft) and Poor; Sunday, Nov 15, flat (under 1 ft) and Poor.
Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24
Days 11–16 for Sunset 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | 1–2 ft | Good | 1.0 ft · 12 s · SE | 8 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 6 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 6 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 1 ft | Poor | 0.8 ft · 11 s · SE | calm | 7 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 1 ft | Poor | 1.0 ft · 3 s · SSW | 6 mph offshore (NNW) | 5 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 6 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 1–2 ft | Poor to Fair | 2.5 ft · 5 s · SW | 12 mph cross-shore (WSW) | 19 mph cross-shore (W), gusts 24 | 8 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 2.3 ft · 3 s · WNW | 15 mph cross-shore (WNW) | 17 mph cross-shore (W) | 7 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.3 ft · 6 s · SSW | 16 mph offshore (NW) | 16 mph offshore (NW) | 7 am |
| Sun, Nov 15 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | — | 11 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 16 | 9 mph offshore (NNW), gusts 14 | 7 am |
| Mon, Nov 16 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.3 ft · 8 s · SE | 9 mph offshore (NNE), gusts 14 | calm | 4 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 0–1 ft | Poor | — | 10 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 15 | 9 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 10 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 0–1 ft | Poor | — | 12 mph cross-shore (NNE), gusts 21 | 11 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 4 pm |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for Sunset Beach are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
Sunset Beach tide chart and tide times
Tides at Sunset Beach today, Monday, Nov 9: low -0.4 ft at 12:35 am, high 5.3 ft at 6:59 am, low -0.1 ft at 1:19 pm and high 4.2 ft at 7:12 pm. At 3 pm the tide is 0.7 ft and rising.
Sunset Beach tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low -0.4 ft at 12:35 amHigh 5.3 ft at 6:59 amLow -0.1 ft at 1:19 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 7:12 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low -0.3 ft at 1:15 amHigh 5.1 ft at 7:41 amLow 0.0 ft at 1:57 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 7:50 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 0.0 ft at 1:55 amHigh 5.1 ft at 8:20 amLow 0.4 ft at 2:39 pmHigh 4.2 ft at 8:30 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 0.4 ft at 2:33 amHigh 5.1 ft at 8:55 amLow 0.4 ft at 3:27 pmHigh 3.7 ft at 9:14 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | Low 0.4 ft at 3:10 amHigh 4.9 ft at 9:41 amLow 0.8 ft at 4:07 pmHigh 3.8 ft at 9:52 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Low 0.5 ft at 4 amHigh 4.4 ft at 10:21 amLow 0.4 ft at 4:57 pmHigh 3.3 ft at 10:46 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Low 0.5 ft at 4:45 amHigh 4.2 ft at 11:11 amLow 0.5 ft at 5:44 pmHigh 3.3 ft at 11:40 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | Low 0.7 ft at 5:40 amHigh 4.1 ft at 12 pmLow 0.5 ft at 6:35 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 3.4 ft at 12:36 amLow 0.7 ft at 6:39 amHigh 4.0 ft at 12:53 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
Sunset Beach water temperature
The water temperature at Sunset Beach is about 68°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 73°F and a 5 mph wind, a 2mm springsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 65 and 68°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 Sunset Beach
- Ocean Isle Beach Pier4.3 mi ENE · 1 ft · Poor
- Cherry Grove Pier, South Carolina7.7 mi WSW · 1 ft · Poor
- Holden Beach10 mi ENE · 1 ft · Poor
- Ocean Drive, South Carolina10 mi WSW · 1 ft · Poor
- 27th Ave South, South Carolina13 mi WSW · 1 ft · Poor
- Apache Pier, South Carolina17 mi WSW · 1–2 ft · Poor to Fair
Rated right now. The Current app animates the surf itself on a live map of the whole coast. See the app →
All 21 Wilmington & Cape Fear spots →
Other spots named Sunset Beach: Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, Florida · Sunset Beach, Oahu North Shore, Hawaii · Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, California
About Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach is a beach break in Sunset Beach, Brunswick County, North Carolina, facing south-southeast. Also called Sunset Beach Pier.
Follow Sunset Beach in the Current app
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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.