Kure Beach Surf Report & Ideal Conditions

Live NOAA data · Updated 2026-08-26
As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Kure Beach is marginal: the live 0–2 ft short-period swell from the S is off its ideal E direction and is under its usual size, and the wind is moderate from the E. Kure Beach is most often good on a 2–4 ft short-period (under 8s) swell from the E, with moderate wind from the SW, on a high incoming tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here. It best suits improving and intermediate surfers.

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Best conditions for Kure Beach

Kure Beach is most often good on a 2–4 ft short-period (under 8s) swell from the E, with moderate wind from the SW, on a high incoming tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest here.

Ideal wave height2–4 ft
Ideal periodshort-period (under 8s)
Best swell directionE
Best windmoderate wind from the SW
Best tidehigh & incoming

These best-conditions estimates come from real sessions LazySurfer users rated highly at this break — not an editorial guess (moderate-confidence read). In the app, LazySurfer's custom deep-learning model predicts your own 1–5★ rating at about 90% exact-match accuracy (97.6% within one star). How LazySurfer works →

Current conditions

Latest reading from the nearest NOAA buoys (UTC 2026-08-26 10:00 UTC). LazySurfer reads this same public NDBC data directly — no proprietary smoothing. New to buoy data? See how to read a NOAA buoy.

Wave height1.6 ft
Dominant period5s
Swell directionSSE (165°)
Wave buoyNDBC station 41110 (14 mi away)
Wind6 kt from the ESE — NDBC MBIN7 (6 mi away)

Kure Beach 7-day surf forecast

Model wave & wind outlook for Kure Beach from NOAA's GEFS-Wave model, refreshed daily. Heights are open-water swell (face heights at the break are typically larger).

DaySwell heightPeriod & directionWind
Wed Aug 262 ft9s SE8 kt SE
Thu Aug 272–3 ft5s S10 kt SSW
Fri Aug 282–4 ft6s SSE7 kt SSW
Sat Aug 292 ft8s SE4 kt NE
Sun Aug 302 ft8s SE7 kt E
Mon Aug 312 ft8s ESE8 kt SSW
Tue Sep 12 ft8s SE8 kt SW

Tide

Predicted tide for the next two days from NOAA station 8658120 (Wilmington), the nearest tide station (15 mi away). Times local.

Kure Beach tide chart for 2026-08-26 Predicted tide height in feet over two days, with high and low markers. 12a6a12p6p12a6a12p6p 4.5ft1:08a0.4ft8:35a3.9ft1:54p0.6ft8:23p4.5ft1:56a0.4ft9:18a4.1ft2:50p0.7ft9:23pNow0.44.5

Frequently asked

Is Kure Beach working right now?

As of the latest buoy reading (2026-08-26 10:00 UTC), Kure Beach is marginal: the live 0–2 ft short-period swell from the S is off its ideal E direction and is under its usual size, and the wind is moderate from the E.

Is Kure Beach good for beginners?

Kure Beach is best for improving and intermediate surfers — it's most often good on 2–4 ft surf, manageable on its smaller days but a step up from true beginner conditions. Conditions change daily, so always check the live report on this page before paddling out.

What's the best tide for Kure Beach?

Kure Beach tends to be best on a high incoming tide — the tide stage LazySurfer surfers have rated highest here. Tide changes how the swell breaks, so check the two-day tide chart on this page for today's high and low times.

What swell direction is best for Kure Beach?

The best swell direction for Kure Beach is from the east (E). Swell arriving from the east lines up best with how this break faces, which is when LazySurfer surfers have rated it highest.

What's the best wind for Kure Beach?

Kure Beach is most often good with moderate wind from the southwest (SW) — the wind LazySurfer surfers logged on their best-rated sessions here. Wind direction grooms or chops the wave face, so check the live report for current wind.

Where does LazySurfer's surf data for Kure Beach come from?

LazySurfer reads public data directly from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and the National Weather Service — the nearest NDBC wave buoy (station 41110) and the nearest NOAA tide station (Wilmington). The same raw readings NOAA publishes, with no proprietary smoothing.

Does LazySurfer predict whether Kure Beach is good for me?

Yes. LazySurfer trains a custom deep-learning model — a PyTorch neural network with per-user embeddings, retrained weekly on real logged surf sessions from the LazySurfer community — to predict the 1-to-5 star rating you personally would give, rather than a single average rating for everyone.

Nearby spots

More North Carolina surf: best surf spots in North Carolina · best surf spots for beginners in North Carolina

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