BackTidal current

Which way is the water going?

Tide height tells you whether you float. Tide current tells you what the water is doing to the boat. Three of nine inlets here have a NOAA current station — the other six say so rather than borrowing a neighbour's.

Not for navigation · not a go / no-go

Every current on this page is an astronomical prediction from NOAA. None of it has been measured — NOAA publishes no observed current on this coast — and wind, rain and river stage all push the real current away from it. The wind-against-tide read describes a known mechanism: a current running against a sea shortens it and stands it up. It cannot see the bar. Nobody runs an inlet on a number. Look at it, and ask somebody who ran it this morning.

Current stations
46
92 station-and-bin combinations in the corridor box
Inlets covered
3 of 9
A station within 3 nm. The other 6 have none, and nothing is filled in.
Widest gap
32 nm
New River Inlet to the nearest current prediction of any kind
Wind against tide
—
No covered inlet has the sea running against the current this hour
Where the water actually runs

The stations people name. Current only — these are places you pass through, and the number that matters is how hard it is running and when it turns.

0.9
kt ebb
Snows Cut

The ICW shortcut between the Cape Fear River and Myrtle Sound. It is a current gate, not a depth problem — the whole tidal exchange of Myrtle Sound funnels through a ditch.

CFR1616 bin 4 · setting WSW 254° · peaks 2.0 kt ebb 03:47 · next slack 17:47
0.5
kt flood
Cape Fear entrance — Bald Head Shoal

Where the whole river's ebb meets the ocean. The number that matters on the run in from the sea buoy.

CFR1626 bin 1 · setting NNE 13° · peaks 1.8 kt ebb 11:28 · next slack 18:28
1.6
kt flood
Southport waterfront

The Cape Fear ebb past the town front, at the bin nearest the surface.

CFR1624 bin 10 · setting NE 48° · peaks 3.4 kt ebb 23:00 · next slack 18:49
0.9
kt flood
Beaufort Inlet — Fort Macon bar

Closest published current to the Beaufort Inlet bar, 0.35 nm from the throat.

ACT6336 bin 1 · setting NNW 332° · peaks 2.2 kt ebb 11:27 · next flood 16:28
0.0
kt slack
Carolina Beach Inlet — Myrtle Sound behind it

The nearest published current to Carolina Beach Inlet is in the waterway behind the inlet, not on the bar. NOAA's own station name says ICW.

CFR1615 bin 1 · peaks 0.5 kt flood 11:35 · next flood 22:28

The nine inlets

Beaufort Inlet

Dredged ship channel·ICW mile 203
Across
0.9
kt flood predicted
Across the sea

The flood is moving at 0.92 kt toward NNW, and the sea is crossing it at about 71°. Neither with it nor against it — expect a confused, slappy surface rather than a stacked one.

NWind, blowing towardSea, running towardWater, setting toward
16:00next 12 hours · bar height is current speed03:00
Water setting
NNW
332° · 0.9 kt
Wind from
N
9 kt · gust 12
Sea
1.2 ft
6 s · long and easy
Angle between them
Sea 71° not opposingWind 152° opposing

180° is dead head-on, 0° is running the same way. Anything past 135° is opposing within 45 degrees — the case that stacks water up. At 6 s this sea would stop dead against about 4.5 kt of opposing current.

Where this current comes from
ACT6336 · 0.3 nm · subordinate · events only

ACT6336 "Fort Macon, 0.6 mile SE of", 0.3 nm away. It is the closest current NOAA publishes to this inlet. Bin 1 — the only bin NOAA publishes here, listed at 6 ft. NOAA publishes only slack and maximum events for this subordinate station — no hourly series exists — so the hours between them are shaped from its own events and marked as such.

Next turn: flood 1.0 kt at 16:28

Also within 3 nm, and deliberately not averaged in: ACT6341 (0.6 nm), ACT6396 (0.9 nm), ACT6391 (0.9 nm), ACT6346 (1.1 nm), ACT6331 (1.2 nm), ACT6381 (1.3 nm), ACT6326 (1.7 nm), ACT6351 (1.8 nm), ACT6366 (2.2 nm), ACT6371 (2.5 nm), ACT6356 (2.5 nm), ACT6401 (2.6 nm), ACT6376 (2.8 nm), ACT6406 (2.9 nm).

Bogue Inlet

Unjettied sand inlet·ICW mile 229
No current station
18.9
nm to nearest current station

No NOAA current station within 3 nm of Bogue Inlet. The nearest current prediction of any kind is 18.9 nm away — ACT6361, "Morehead City, S of" — and it is not shown here, because current at one inlet says nothing reliable about current at another. A tide gauge nearby is not a substitute: it measures HEIGHT, and slack water at an inlet does not land on high or low water.

Nearest of any distance

ACT6361 · Morehead City, S of · 18.9 nm · subordinate

What this inlet is

Unstructured sand inlet at Swansboro. The bar channel migrates hard enough that the Coast Guard re-sets the whole buoy line rather than moving one aid at a time.

New River Inlet

Unjettied sand inlet·ICW mile 245
No current station
32.0
nm to nearest current station

No NOAA current station within 3 nm of New River Inlet. The nearest current prediction of any kind is 32.0 nm away — ACT6361, "Morehead City, S of" — and it is not shown here, because current at one inlet says nothing reliable about current at another. A tide gauge nearby is not a substitute: it measures HEIGHT, and slack water at an inlet does not land on high or low water.

Nearest of any distance

ACT6361 · Morehead City, S of · 32.0 nm · subordinate

What this inlet is

Unstructured and shoal. The ICW crossing here is one of the thinnest spots on the whole Southport–Beaufort run.

New Topsail Inlet

Unjettied sand inlet·ICW mile 270
No current station
14.9
nm to nearest current station

No NOAA current station within 3 nm of New Topsail Inlet. The nearest current prediction of any kind is 14.9 nm away — CFR1601, "Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N of" — and it is not shown here, because current at one inlet says nothing reliable about current at another. A tide gauge nearby is not a substitute: it measures HEIGHT, and slack water at an inlet does not land on high or low water.

Nearest of any distance

CFR1601 · Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N of · 14.9 nm · harmonic

What this inlet is

Unstructured sand inlet with a connector channel in from the waterway. The bar shifts; the marked channel inside the inlet is re-set often.

Rich Inlet

Unjettied sand inlet·ICW mile 276
No current station
10.5
nm to nearest current station

No NOAA current station within 3 nm of Rich Inlet. The nearest current prediction of any kind is 10.5 nm away — CFR1601, "Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N of" — and it is not shown here, because current at one inlet says nothing reliable about current at another. A tide gauge nearby is not a substitute: it measures HEIGHT, and slack water at an inlet does not land on high or low water.

Nearest of any distance

CFR1601 · Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N of · 10.5 nm · harmonic

What this inlet is

Natural, unmarked and unmaintained. No federal channel and no inlet survey — local knowledge only.

Mason Inlet

Unjettied sand inlet·ICW mile 280
No current station
8.6
nm to nearest current station

No NOAA current station within 3 nm of Mason Inlet. The nearest current prediction of any kind is 8.6 nm away — CFR1601, "Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N of" — and it is not shown here, because current at one inlet says nothing reliable about current at another. A tide gauge nearby is not a substitute: it measures HEIGHT, and slack water at an inlet does not land on high or low water.

Nearest of any distance

CFR1601 · Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N of · 8.6 nm · harmonic

What this inlet is

Migrating inlet at the north end of Wrightsville, relocated by permit rather than dredged as a channel. No federal inlet survey.

Masonboro Inlet

Twin jetties·ICW mile 283
No current station
6.7
nm to nearest current station

No NOAA current station within 3 nm of Masonboro Inlet. The nearest current prediction of any kind is 6.7 nm away — CFR1611, "Upper Big I Range" — and it is not shown here, because current at one inlet says nothing reliable about current at another. A tide gauge nearby is not a substitute: it measures HEIGHT, and slack water at an inlet does not land on high or low water.

Nearest of any distance

CFR1611 · Upper Big I Range · 6.7 nm · harmonic

What this inlet is

The only twin-jettied inlet on this stretch, so the ocean bar holds its line. The ICW crossing behind it is a different matter and is surveyed far less often.

Carolina Beach Inlet

Unjettied sand inlet·ICW mile 293
Slack
0.0
kt slack predicted
Slack — tide adding nothing

The tide is at the turn — 0.00 kt. Close enough to slack that whatever the sea is doing, the tide is not adding to it.

NWind, blowing towardSea, running toward
16:00next 12 hours · bar height is current speed03:00
Water setting
—
slack, no set
Wind from
N
7 kt · gust 12
Sea
2.4 ft
9 s · long and easy
Worst hour in the next 48
23:00 · Against the sea — starting to stack

The flood is barely moving at 0.43 kt toward NE, into a 5.4 ft at 6 s sea. About 5% taller and 5% shorter than the open-water figure, so roughly 1.1× the steepness. At 6 s the sea stops dead against about 4.5 kt of opposing current, and this is 9% of the way there. Not dramatic yet, but the sea is already shorter than the number says.

Where this current comes from
CFR1615 · 0.8 nm · harmonic · in the ICW

CFR1615 "Myrtle Sound, south end, ICW", 0.8 nm away. NOAA's own name for it says ICW, so this meter is in the waterway behind Carolina Beach Inlet, not on the bar. Bin 1 — the only bin NOAA publishes here, listed at 16 ft. Hourly values come straight from NOAA's harmonic series for this station.

Next turn: flood 0.4 kt at 22:28

Also within 3 nm, and deliberately not averaged in: CFR1616 (1.3 nm), CFR1614 (2.8 nm).

Cape Fear River Entrance

Dredged ship channel
Across
1.3
kt flood predicted
Across the sea

The flood is running at 1.3 kt toward NNE, and the sea is crossing it at about 114°. Neither with it nor against it — expect a confused, slappy surface rather than a stacked one.

NWind, blowing towardSea, running towardWater, setting toward
16:00next 12 hours · bar height is current speed03:00
Water setting
NNE
12° · 1.3 kt
Wind from
N
7 kt · gust 10
Sea
2.2 ft
8 s · long and easy
Angle between them
Sea 114° not opposingWind 178° opposing

180° is dead head-on, 0° is running the same way. Anything past 135° is opposing within 45 degrees — the case that stacks water up. At 8 s this sea would stop dead against about 6.0 kt of opposing current.

Where this current comes from
CFR1625 · 1.3 nm · harmonic

CFR1625 "Fort Caswell", 1.3 nm away. It is the closest current NOAA publishes to this inlet. Bin 1 of 3, the one NOAA lists at the smallest distance (12 ft) — the fastest-running bin at this station, which is the water a hull is in. Hourly values come straight from NOAA's harmonic series for this station.

Next turn: slack at 18:31

Also within 3 nm, and deliberately not averaged in: CFR1626 (1.9 nm), CFR1624 (2.9 nm).

Strongest predicted current at any covered inlet in this window: 2.2 kt ebb at Beaufort Inlet, 11:27.

What this does not know

NOAA CO-OPS current predictions — planning aid, not for navigation · station list retrieved 2026-08-22 · hours from 16:04 Eastern, 48 ahead

Every current station NOAA publishes here
46 stations, 92 station-and-bin combinations

In two clusters, with the whole stretch from Bogue Inlet to the Cape Fear — New River, New Topsail, Rich, Mason and Masonboro — carrying none at all. Tap to see the list.

Beaufort Inlet & Morehead City

16 stations · 34.666–34.738 N

Packed into eight miles of water around the inlet and the port. Every one is subordinate — NOAA publishes slack and maximum events only here, never an hourly series.

ACT6376Newport Marshes, E ofbin 1events
ACT6371Newport Marshes, SE ofbin 1/2events
ACT6366Morehead City, RR. bridge, N ofbin 1events
ACT6361Morehead City, S ofbin 1events
ACT6351Turning Basinbin 1/2events
ACT6356Sugarloaf Island, 0.2 mile S ofbin 1events
ACT6381Radio Island, E ofbin 1events
ACT6346Tombstone Point, 0.1 mile E ofbin 1events
ACT6401Carrot Islandbin 1events
ACT6391Bird Shoal, SE ofbin 1events
ACT6341Fort Macon, 0.2 mile NE ofbin 1/2events
ACT6396Shackleford Point, NE ofbin 1events
ACT6336Fort Macon, 0.6 mile SE ofbin 1events
ACT6406Middle Marshes, S ofbin 1events
ACT6331Beaufort Inlet Approachbin 1events
ACT6326Shackleford Banks, 0.8 mile S ofbin 1events

Cape Fear River

30 stations · 33.854–34.259 N

Wilmington down to Bald Head Shoal, mostly harmonic. This is the only stretch of the corridor where NOAA publishes a real hourly current series.

CFR1601Hilton RR Bridge, 0.1 nm N ofbin 7/2hourly
CFR1602Isabel Holmes Bridgebin 8/2hourly
CFR1604Point Peterbin 12/2hourly
CFR1603Wilmington, Northeast Riverbin 19/3hourly
CFR1605Wilmington, USS North Carolinabin 9/2hourly
CFR1607State Pier, N end, sidelookingbin 1/3hourly
ACT65011.8 miles north of mouthbin 1events
CFR1608Dram Tree Pointbin 10/2hourly
ACT64960.4 mile north ofbin 1/2events
CFR1609Port of Wilmington, South Endbin 3/3hourly
CFR1610Lower Brunswick Rangebin 10/3hourly
CFR1611Upper Big I Rangebin 10/3hourly
CFR1612Campbell Island, East Sidebin 9/3hourly
CFR1613Keg Island, West Sidebin 8/2hourly
CFR1615Myrtle Sound, south end, ICWbin 1hourly
CFR1614Doctor Point, 0.6 NM NNW ofbin 9/3hourly
CFR1616Snows Cut, ICWbin 4hourly
CFR1617Orton Point, 0.5 NM S ofbin 10/3hourly
CFR1618Upper Midnight Channelbin 10/3hourly
ACT6461Reaves Point, 0.4 mile north ofbin 1/3events
CFR1619Reaves Point, 0.9 NM NE ofbin 8/3hourly
ACT6446Reaves Point, 0.3 mile east ofbin 1/3events
ACT6451Reaves Point Channelbin 1/3events
CFR1620Sunny Point, 0.5 nm SE ofbin 1/3hourly
CFR1621Snows Marsh Channelbin 1/3hourly
CFR1623Oak Island Bridge, ICWbin 3hourly
CFR1622Southport at Dutchman Creek, ICWbin 6/2hourly
CFR1624Southportbin 10/3hourly
CFR1625Fort Caswellbin 1/3hourly
CFR1626Bald Head Shoalbin 1/2hourly

hourly — harmonic stations, where NOAA publishes a true hour-by-hour series. events — subordinate stations, where NOAA publishes only slack and maximum times and the hours between them are shaped from those same events. Names are NOAA's verbatim, including the ones that are only fragments. Predictions only. NOAA publishes no observed current on this coast, so nothing here has been measured. Retrieved 2026-08-22.