Special Marine Warning Issued for Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC

Source: NOAA · Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC

This alert is no longer in effect.

NOAA issued it on May 19, 2026, 3 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.

NWS Wilmington NC has issued a Special Marine Warning for waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC from 20 to 60 NM until 5:45 PM EDT due to a strong thunderstorm with wind gusts 34 knots or greater and small hail.

Read this weather record in 30 seconds

Record type
Special Marine Warning
Affected area
Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC
Issued
May 19, 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: historical. It was issued 3 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC.

Alert Details

A Special Marine Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service in Wilmington NC. The alert is effective from May 11 at 5:11 PM EDT until May 11 at 5:45 PM EDT.

Affected Areas

Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC from 20 to 60 NM.

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 5:10 PM EDT, a strong thunderstorm was located 21 nm southeast of Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower, moving east at 25 knots. Hazards include wind gusts 34 knots or greater and small hail. Small craft could be damaged in briefly higher winds and suddenly higher waves.

Timeline

The warning is in effect from May 11 at 5:11 PM EDT and expires at 5:45 PM EDT on the same day. The strong thunderstorm will remain over mainly open waters.

Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗

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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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this NWS weather alert.

What is this NWS weather alert about?
NWS Wilmington NC has issued a Special Marine Warning for waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC from 20 to 60 NM until 5:45 PM EDT due to a strong thunderstorm with wind gusts 34 knots or greater and small hail.
Which agency issued this alert?
This alert was issued by NOAA. The original notice is available at the source link at the bottom of this article.
How severe is this alert?
This alert is classified as "high" severity. Take precautions and monitor for updates.
What area is affected?
This alert affects Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC. Check with NOAA for the most current geographic scope.
Where can I find more Weather Alerts updates?
Browse the full Weather Alerts feed on Areazine at areazine.com/weather/ for the latest updates from NOAA and other agencies.