Special Marine Warning Issued for Albemarle Sound and North Carolina Coastal Waters
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Marine Warning for coastal North Carolina waters until 4:00 PM EDT due to severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts and 50-knot wind gusts.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Coastal North Carolina
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Newport Morehead City
Marine notices apply to named waters or shoreline zones. They may not describe conditions on land, even when the nearest place name is the same.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Coastal North Carolina.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City NC has issued a Special Marine Warning. The alert was issued at 3:02 PM EDT and is effective until 4:00 PM EDT on March 12, 2026.
Affected Areas
The warning covers several key maritime regions and coastal areas, including:
- Albemarle Sound
- Alligator River
- Croatan and Roanoke Sounds
- South of Currituck Beach Light NC to Oregon Inlet NC (out to 20 nm)
- Waters from Currituck Beach Light to Oregon Inlet NC (20 to 40 nm)
Specific locations impacted include Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, Duck, Oregon Inlet, the Alligator River Bridge, and the centers of the Albemarle, Croatan, and Roanoke Sounds.
What You Should Do
Mariners are urged to move to safe harbor immediately. Thunderstorms can produce sudden waterspouts which can easily overturn boats and create locally hazardous seas. Small craft could be damaged in briefly higher winds and suddenly higher waves. Seek safe harbor immediately as gusty winds and high waves are expected.
Expected Conditions
Radar has detected severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts. Wind gusts are expected to reach nearly 50 knots. At 3:01 PM EDT, these storms were located along a line extending from 6 nautical miles east of Duck to 8 nautical miles northeast of Crabtree Bay.
Timeline
The alert is effective from 3:02 PM EDT until 4:00 PM EDT on March 12, 2026. The storm system is currently moving northeast at a speed of 50 knots.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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