Lighthouse Third Groin Surf Report & Ideal Conditions

Live NOAA data · Updated 2026-10-05
As of the latest buoy reading (2026-10-05 18:26 UTC), Lighthouse Third Groin is looking good: the live 2–4 ft short-period swell from the E matches its ideal E direction and is in its ideal size range, and the wind is strong from the N. Lighthouse Third Groin is most often good on a 2–4 ft medium-period (8–16s) swell from the E, with light wind from the N, on a low incoming tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest across the surrounding region. It best suits improving and intermediate surfers.

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Best conditions for Lighthouse Third Groin

Lighthouse Third Groin is most often good on a 2–4 ft medium-period (8–16s) swell from the E, with light wind from the N, on a low incoming tide — the conditions LazySurfer surfers have logged and rated highest across the surrounding region.

Ideal wave height2–4 ft
Ideal periodmedium-period (8–16s)
Best swell directionE
Best windlight wind from the N
Best tidelow & 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 2026-10-05 18:26 UTC). LazySurfer reads this same public NDBC data directly — no proprietary smoothing. New to buoy data? See how to read a NOAA buoy.

Wave height3.6 ft
Dominant period8s
Swell directionENE (76°)
Wave buoyNDBC station 41120 (13 mi away)
Wind15 kt from the NNE — NDBC HCGN7 (11 mi away)

Lighthouse Third Groin 7-day surf forecast

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

DaySwell heightPeriod & directionWind
Mon Oct 53 ft6s ENE18 kt NNE
Tue Oct 63 ft6s E20 kt NE
Wed Oct 72 ft7s ESE13 kt ENE
Thu Oct 82 ft7s SE4 kt ENE
Fri Oct 92–3 ft6s ESE18 kt NNE
Sat Oct 102–3 ft7s SE15 kt ENE
Sun Oct 113–4 ft6s ESE28 kt ESE

Tide

Predicted tide for the next two days from NOAA station 8654467 (Hatteras (ocean)), the nearest tide station (11 mi away). Times local.

Lighthouse Third Groin tide chart for 2026-10-05 Predicted tide height in feet over two days, with high and low markers. 12a6a12p6p12a6a12p6p 0.3ft2:02a0.0ft8:32a0.1ft2:09p-0.0ft8:08p0.3ft2:40a0.0ft9:13a0.2ft2:55p-0.0ft8:57pNow-0.00.3

Frequently asked

Is Lighthouse Third Groin working right now?

As of the latest buoy reading (2026-10-05 18:26 UTC), Lighthouse Third Groin is looking good: the live 2–4 ft short-period swell from the E matches its ideal E direction and is in its ideal size range, and the wind is strong from the N.

Is Lighthouse Third Groin good for beginners?

Lighthouse Third Groin 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 Lighthouse Third Groin?

Lighthouse Third Groin tends to be best on a low 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 Lighthouse Third Groin?

The best swell direction for Lighthouse Third Groin 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 Lighthouse Third Groin?

Lighthouse Third Groin is most often good with light wind from the north (N) — 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 Lighthouse Third Groin 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 41120) and the nearest NOAA tide station (Hatteras (ocean)). The same raw readings NOAA publishes, with no proprietary smoothing.

Does LazySurfer predict whether Lighthouse Third Groin 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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