Virginia Beach · Virginia Beach County · Virginia
81st Street Surf Report & Forecast, Virginia Beach, Virginia
81st Street, Virginia Beach, Virginia: 2 ft, knee high, at 3 pm EST on Monday, Nov 9, rated Poor. The main swell is 1.7 ft at 11 seconds from the east-southeast, with a 15 mph cross-shore wind from the north-northwest, gusting 20 mph. Water is about 62°F, so a 4/3 full wetsuit is the suggestion; the next high tide is 3.4 ft at 7:43 pm.
2 ft
knee high
- Swell
- 1.7 ft · 11 s · ESE
- Wind
- 15 mph (NNW), gusts 20cross-shore
- Tide
- 0.8 ft risinghigh 3.4 ft at 7:43 pm
- Water
- 62°F4/3
- Air
- 63°Ffeels like 53°F
- Sun
- rise 6:36 amset 4:59 pm
81st Street surf today and tomorrow
Best-rated hour today at 81st Street: 6 am, Poor, 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 81st Street: 6 am, Poor, on a rising high tide.
Hour by hour as a table, today and tomorrow
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 2 ft | Poor | 13 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 19 | 3.8 ft |
| 7 am | 2 ft | Poor | 10 mph offshore (W), gusts 15 | 4.2 ft |
| 8 am | 2 ft | Poor | 10 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 15 | 4.1 ft |
| 9 am | 2 ft | Poor | 12 mph offshore (WNW) | 3.7 ft |
| 10 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 13 mph offshore (NW), gusts 18 | 2.9 ft |
| 11 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 14 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 19 | 2.0 ft |
| 12 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 14 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 20 | 1.2 ft |
| 1 pm | 2 ft | Poor | 15 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 20 | 0.6 ft |
| 2 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 15 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 21 | 0.5 ft |
| 3 pmnow | 1–2 ft | Poor | 13 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 19 | 0.8 ft |
| 4 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 12 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 18 | 1.5 ft |
| 5 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 12 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 17 | 2.3 ft |
| Time | Surf | Rating | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 3.6 ft |
| 7 am | 1 ft | Poor | calm | 4.2 ft |
| 8 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | calm | 4.4 ft |
| 9 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 4 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 4.2 ft |
| 10 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 6 mph cross-shore (SSW) | 3.7 ft |
| 11 am | 1–2 ft | Poor | 7 mph offshore (SW) | 2.9 ft |
| 12 pm | 1 ft | Poor | 8 mph offshore (WSW) | 2.0 ft |
| 1 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 10 mph offshore (WSW), gusts 15 | 1.3 ft |
| 2 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 11 mph offshore (W), gusts 17 | 0.8 ft |
| 3 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 11 mph offshore (W), gusts 17 | 0.8 ft |
| 4 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 10 mph offshore (W), gusts 16 | 1.2 ft |
| 5 pm | 1–2 ft | Poor | 10 mph offshore (WSW) | 1.9 ft |
81st Street waves today: sets, lulls and how they break
At 3 pm, sets at 81st Street arrive about every 4 minutes with about 4 waves each, and the waves are mostly barreling and hollow.
- Set waves
- about 1.9 ft faces
- Waves per set
- about 4
- Sets
- every 4 minutes or so, each lasting about 31 s
- Lulls
- about 179 s between breaking waves
- How they break
- Barrelingwhich means the lip pitches out and can throw a barrel
- Shape
- Hollowwhich means throwing, barreling waves
- Breaking
- 6% of waves stand up and break where surfers sitThe rest roll through.
- Along-shore current
- strong, about 1.4 mphThis is not a rip current forecast. For rip current risk, see the National Weather Service.
81st Street surf this weekend and the next 10 days
Next 10 days at 81st Street: the biggest day is Monday, Nov 9 at 1–2 ft, and the best-rated day is Monday, Nov 9 (Poor). 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 81st Street 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 | Poor | 1.9 ft · 11 s · ESE | 10 mph offshore (WNW), gusts 15 | 15 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 21 | 6 am |
| Tue, Nov 10 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 1.4 ft · 11 s · ESE | calm | 11 mph offshore (W), gusts 17 | 4 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | 1–2 ft | Poor | 1.3 ft · 10 s · E | 6 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 6 mph onshore (ENE) | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 12 | 0–1 ft | Poor | 1.0 ft · 3 s · SSE | 7 mph cross-shore (S) | 10 mph offshore (WSW) | 6 am |
| Fri, Nov 13 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.4 ft · 7 s · SE | 20 mph offshore (W) | 19 mph offshore (WNW) | 6 am |
| Sat, Nov 14 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.2 ft · 11 s · E | 25 mph offshore (NW) | 25 mph offshore (NW) | 1 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.7 ft · 5 s · NE | 21 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 28 | 16 mph cross-shore (NW), gusts 21 | 1 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | flat (under 1 ft) | Poor | 0.9 ft · 4 s · NE | 16 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 23 | 13 mph cross-shore (NNW), gusts 19 | 7 am |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 1 ft | Poor | — | 16 mph cross-shore (N) | 16 mph cross-shore (N) | 7 am |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 1 ft | Poor | — | 11 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 10 mph cross-shore (NNE) | 7 am |
| Thu, Nov 19 – Tue, Nov 24 | Days 11–16 for 81st Street are in the Current app with a Premium subscription. Get the app | |||||
81st Street tide chart and tide times
Tides at 81st Street today, Monday, Nov 9: low 0.3 ft at 12:55 am, high 4.2 ft at 7:23 am, low 0.5 ft at 1:45 pm and high 3.4 ft at 7:43 pm. At 3 pm the tide is 0.8 ft and rising.
81st Street tide chart, November 2026
| Day | Tides |
|---|---|
| Mon, Nov 9 | Low 0.3 ft at 12:55 amHigh 4.2 ft at 7:23 amLow 0.5 ft at 1:45 pmHigh 3.4 ft at 7:43 pm |
| Tue, Nov 10 | Low 0.7 ft at 1:37 amHigh 4.4 ft at 8:02 amLow 0.8 ft at 2:31 pmHigh 3.4 ft at 8:21 pm |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Low 0.8 ft at 2:14 amHigh 4.4 ft at 8:40 amLow 1.0 ft at 3:07 pmHigh 3.6 ft at 9 pm |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Low 1.3 ft at 2:52 amHigh 4.7 ft at 9:18 amLow 1.5 ft at 3:52 pmHigh 3.8 ft at 9:34 pm |
| Fri, Nov 13 | Low 1.6 ft at 3:40 amHigh 4.5 ft at 9:56 amLow 1.5 ft at 4:39 pmHigh 3.4 ft at 10:11 pm |
| Sat, Nov 14 | Low 1.2 ft at 4:31 amHigh 3.8 ft at 10:38 amLow 1.0 ft at 5:27 pmHigh 2.8 ft at 11:05 pm |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Low 0.9 ft at 5:16 amHigh 3.4 ft at 11:28 amLow 0.9 ft at 6:11 pm |
| Mon, Nov 16 | High 2.7 ft at 12 amLow 1.0 ft at 6:08 amHigh 3.2 ft at 12:15 pmLow 0.7 ft at 7:02 pm |
| Tue, Nov 17 | High 2.7 ft at 12:59 amLow 1.0 ft at 7:04 amHigh 3.2 ft at 1:07 pm |
Tide predictions, not observations. Heights in feet above MLLW.
81st Street water temperature
The water temperature at 81st Street is about 62°F on Monday, Nov 9. With the air feeling like 53°F and a 15 mph wind, a 4/3 full wetsuit is the suggestion. Over the next week the water stays between 60 and 62°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 81st Street
- North End0.4 mi NNW · 2 ft · Poor
- 42nd Street2.5 mi S · 2 ft · Poor
- Virginia Beach Pier4.4 mi S · 2 ft · Poor
- 1st Street Jetty5.2 mi SSE · 2 ft · Good
- Croatan Jetty5.6 mi S · 1–2 ft · Poor
- Croatan5.8 mi S · 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 81st Street
81st Street is a beach break in Virginia Beach County, Virginia, facing east. Also called Eighty First Street and VB 81st Street.
Follow 81st Street 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.