Special Marine Warning Issued for Coastal Waters off NC and SC
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NWS Wilmington NC has issued a Special Marine Warning for multiple coastal and offshore zones due to a severe thunderstorm capable of producing waterspouts.
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- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Coastal Waters off North Carolina and South Carolina
- Issued
- August 22, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Wilmington NC
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: publication date is recent, but current status is not stored on this page. Check the issuing agency's live warning service before acting because warnings can be updated, narrowed, or cancelled.
Alert Details
Special Marine Warning issued by NWS Wilmington NC. Effective from 11:37 PM EDT August 21, 2026 until 12:30 AM EDT August 22, 2026.
Affected Areas
Coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 NM; Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 NM; Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC from 20 to 60 NM; Waters from Little River Inlet SC to South Santee River SC from 20 to 60 NM. Locations impacted include Gary Ennis Reef and Atlantic Ledge.
What You Should Do
Boaters should seek safe harbor immediately until these storms pass. If caught on the open water, prepare for deteriorating conditions. Make sure you and your crew are wearing properly fitted life jackets.
Expected Conditions
At 11:37 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing waterspouts was located over Atlantic Ledge, moving east at 10 knots. Hazards include waterspouts, wind gusts to 40 knots, and small hail.
Timeline
Alert in effect until 12:30 AM EDT August 22, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this NWS weather alert: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,032 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (high) notices issued closest in time to August 22, 2026.
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