Weather & forecasts
AccuWeather supplies location-specific current conditions and forecasts for supported Outer Banks communities. National Weather Service products provide official alerts and additional regional guidance.
OBX BEACH & WEATHERThe Coast, Clearly.
Data Sources & Methodology
Where OBX Beach & Weather gets its weather, ocean, station, and safety information — and how those sources are presented.
Sunnyside Up live station
Live Nags Head observations come from the privately owned Sunnyside Up oceanfront weather station, including temperature, humidity, wind, rain, pressure, UV, solar radiation, lightning, and PM2.5 where available.
Surf & marine
The website's OBX Surf Estimate is an independent breaking-surf estimate built from NOAA/NWS nearshore guidance and NDBC observations. NOAA/NWS marine products provide offshore and coastal context.
Tides & water
Tide predictions use NOAA station data mapped to each supported location. Water-temperature presentation prioritizes measured or official sources when available and labels modeled estimates or unavailable values.
Ocean safety
Rip-current guidance, beach-flag information, and official notices are presented from applicable public-safety sources. Posted flags, lifeguards, emergency management, and on-site authorities always take priority.
App Beach Score
The website displays the same OBX Beach & Weather App Beach Score used by the mobile apps. It combines weather, ocean, and beach-day factors into a planning score. It is not an official swimming-safety rating and never overrides warnings, posted flags, or closures.
FRESHNESS & SAFETY
Unavailable data is better than misleading data
Different providers update on different schedules. OBX Beach & Weather applies freshness rules and is designed to show a field as unavailable rather than silently present a value that no longer meets the applicable freshness rules. Weather and ocean conditions can change quickly, so official warnings and on-site guidance always control.