Storm Station
Sign in

Holden Beach, North Carolina

Beach in Brunswick County, North Carolina

Air quality

The air at Holden Beach

Index 79, moderate, led by fine particles. Read at 11 PM from its reporting area, New Hanover County (NC), 34 miles off.

79Moderate
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)79Moderate-
  • Ozone16Good-
  • Coarse particles (PM10)33Good-

The days ahead

Highest 58, moderate, today, led by ozone. Yesterday measured 61, moderate.

Smoke, the next 46 hours

Little smoke near the ground through Sat 8 PM: the index from smoke stays at 11 or under.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Holden Beach

None in the last 3 days, to Thu 10 PM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.00in
Last 3 days
0.00in

Visibility

How far you can see at Holden Beach, the next 46 hours

Visibility stays 6 miles or more through Sat 8 PM, lowest 7 miles Sat 10 AM.

FriSat
Holden Beach from its sand, nowLooking S from the sand at 11:36 PM, night, clear, waves about 2.0 ft every 8 s. The flag is the colour of the day's rip current risk, low (green), not a flag raised on the beach.170S190200Facing S 188°Wind 2 mphfrom SW, onshoreSwell 2.0 ft from ESELongshore current, to the right
Looking S from the sand at 11:36 PM, night, clear, waves about 2.0 ft every 8 s. The flag is the colour of the day's rip current risk, low (green), not a flag raised on the beach.
NESW

Facing S 188°

300 ft

From above: the edge, the break, the view

Rip current risk today: low

The flag in the picture is the colour of the forecast's risk (green low, yellow moderate, red high), not a flag raised on the beach.

A rip current is a narrow stream of water running out from the shore through the surf, often where fewer waves break. Caught in one, swim across it, along the shore, then back in.

Surf and swim

The surf zone forecast for Coastal Brunswick, and the waves at buoy 41013, 45.3 mi away.

Friday

Rip current risk
Ocean Isle Beach West Low
Surf height
Ocean Isle Beach West 1 to 3 feet
Water temperature
In the upper 70s
UV index
High

Waves at buoy 41013, Frying Pan Shoals

Wave height
1.6 ft
Period
8 s
From
ESE (111°)
Swell
1.3 ft at 8 s from ESE
Wind waves
1.3 ft at 3 s from SW
Water
80 °F
Read
Thu 10:50 PM
Distance
45.3 mi

Wave height is the significant height: the mean of the highest third of the waves. The period is the time between the waves carrying the most energy.

Wave height at buoy 41013, last 48 hoursSignificant wave height from 1.3 ft to 2.0 ft; 1.6 ft at Thu 10:50 PM. Arrows show the way the waves travel.0 ft1 ft2 ft3 ft6 AMNoon6 PMThu6 AMNoon6 PM1.6 ftWave height at buoy 41013, last 48 hoursSignificant wave height from 1.3 ft to 2.0 ft; 1.6 ft at Thu 10:50 PM. Arrows show the way the waves travel.0 ft1 ft2 ft3 ftNoonThuNoon1.6 ft
Significant wave height from 1.3 ft to 2.0 ft; 1.6 ft at Thu 10:50 PM. Arrows show the way the waves travel.
Every hour, last 24 hours
TimeWave heightPeriodFrom
Thu 10:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (111°)
Thu 9:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (109°)
Thu 8:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (112°)
Thu 7:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (103°)
Thu 6:50 PM1.3 ft10 sESE (119°)
Thu 5:50 PM1.3 ft7 sESE (113°)
Thu 4:50 PM1.3 ft8 sESE (108°)
Thu 3:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (110°)
Thu 2:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (116°)
Thu 1:50 PM1.6 ft8 sESE (105°)
Thu 12:50 PM1.6 ft7 sESE (111°)
Thu 11:50 AM1.6 ft3 sWSW (251°)
Thu 10:50 AM1.6 ft7 sESE (112°)
Thu 9:50 AM1.6 ft7 sESE (117°)
Thu 8:50 AM1.6 ft7 sE (94°)
Thu 7:50 AM2.0 ft7 sESE (114°)
Thu 6:50 AM2.0 ft7 sESE (105°)
Thu 5:50 AM2.0 ft7 sESE (107°)
Thu 4:50 AM2.0 ft3 sWSW (255°)
Thu 3:50 AM2.0 ft8 sESE (107°)
Thu 2:50 AM2.0 ft8 sSE (125°)
Thu 1:50 AM2.0 ft7 sESE (108°)
Thu 12:50 AM2.0 ft8 sESE (109°)
Wed 11:50 PM2.0 ft7 sESE (113°)

Surf zone forecast

Coastal Brunswick, including Bald Head Island, Oak Island, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach. Issued 7:33 PM EDT Thu Oct 15.

ForecastFridaySaturday
Rip current riskOcean Isle Beach West LowOcean Isle Beach West Low
Surf heightOcean Isle Beach West 1 to 3 feetOcean Isle Beach West 1 to 3 feet
Water temperatureIn the upper 70s-
UV indexHigh-
Thunderstorm potentialNoneNone
Waterspout riskLowNone
WeatherSunny. Patchy fog earlyPartly sunny. Showers likely
High temperatureAround 80In the upper 60s
WindsSouthwest winds 10 to 15 mph, becoming south 15 to 20 mph in the afternoonNorth winds around 20 mph
RemarksNoneNone
TidesOak IslandHigh, 12:06 PMOak IslandLow, 6:03 AMHigh, 12:59 PM
Sunday
Low rip current risk. Surf height around 1 foot. Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. Breezy. Northeast winds around 25 mph
Monday
Low rip current risk. Surf height around 1 foot. Mostly sunny. Highs around 70. Northeast winds around 20 mph
Tuesday
Low rip current risk. Surf height 1 to 2 feet. Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. North winds around 20 mph

Beach

County
Brunswick County
State
North Carolina
Latitude
33.9132° N
Longitude
78.3039° W

What is measuring near here

The 5 instruments nearest Holden Beach, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.6 miles away.

measured now3 instruments

Citizen station GW5369GW5369

In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.6 mi away/13 ft/- ft from here

temp, humidity, wind, precip, pressure

ShallotteNATN7

At a river or reservoir gauge/9.4 mi away/56 ft/- ft from here

temp, wind, gust, humidity, pressure

Southport/BrunswickSUT

At an airfield/13.2 mi away/26 ft/- ft from here

temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure

measured daily2 instruments

Holden Beach 1.5 NENC-BR-41

In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.9 mi away/32 ft/- ft from here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Ag STNSHAN7

At a cooperative observer's station/5.0 mi away/23 ft/- ft from here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

-

Snow on the ground

Elsewhere in North Carolina

16 places, each with its own forecast and its own instruments.

Near Holden Beach

The nearest places, each with its own forecast and the instruments nearest it.

Beaches near Holden Beach

Every beach in the state

Near Holden Beach

River and lake gauges