Bald Head Island live beach cam & water temperature
Updated 4 Nov, 15:00 UTC
Live cam by Steve Montgomery via YouTube
Current conditions
Right now at Bald Head Island: 9 kts SE, gusts 9, 1.4 m waves, water 21 °C.
7-day forecast
| Tue 3 | Wed 4 | Thu 5 | Fri 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 00 | 03 | 06 | 09 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 00 | 03 | 06 | 09 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 00 | 03 | 06 | 09 | 12 | 15 | 18 | |
| Wind | 15 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Gusts | 19 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Direction | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ |
| Waves | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Temperature | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Rain (mm) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||
Times shown in local time · Wind, waves and water temperature: ECMWF open data (CC BY 4.0) · Tides: EOT20, DGFI-TUM (CC BY 4.0)
🔒 Days 4–7 are Pro — The free plan shows the first 3 forecast days. Go Pro to see the whole week.
Surf forecast
| Wed 4 | Thu 5 | Fri 6 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 01 | 04 | 07 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 01 | 04 | 07 | 10 | 13 | 16 | |
| Surf (est.) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Primary swell | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.49s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.09s↑ |
| Secondary swell | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wind waves | 1.38s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.38s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.28s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.29s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 1.39s↑ | 0.84s↑ | 0.95s↑ |
| Waves | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Period | 8s | 8s | 8s | 8s | 8s | 8s | 9s | 9s | 9s | 9s | 9s | 9s | 10s | 10s | 10s | 10s | 10s | 10s | 10s |
| Power | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Groundswell | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Surf height is estimated from the primary swell for a beach facing it; reefs, sandbanks and the tide change it. Power in kW per metre of coast. Groundswell: waves of 12 s and longer. Swell: NOAA WAVEWATCH III · ECMWF
Tides (next 48 h)
Spot info
- Town: Bald Head Island, Brunswick County
- Water: Sea
- Sports: SUP
Bald Head Island is a car-free island at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, reached only by passenger ferry from Southport, and it sits at the corner of the coast where the beach turns from south-facing to east-facing around Cape Fear itself. Residents and visitors get around by golf cart, bicycle or on foot, and much of the island is maritime forest, salt marsh and protected dunes; Old Baldy, the island's lighthouse from 1817, is the oldest standing lighthouse in North Carolina. This live cam, managed by a local real estate office, looks out from beach access 15 on the south beach over the sand and the Atlantic. The south beach faces the open ocean and Frying Pan Shoals, which run far out to sea from Cape Fear, and it gets southerly swell in summer and swell from tropical systems; north winds are offshore. The currents near the river mouth and the point of the cape are dangerous, and there are no lifeguards on most of the island, so swim with care. Loggerhead turtles nest here in summer, and the Bald Head Island Conservancy runs a turtle program. Water temperature ranges from about 12 °C in winter to 28 °C in August.
Bald Head Island FAQ
- Is there a beach cam at Bald Head Island?
- Yes. The live beach cam for Bald Head Island is at the top of this page, next to the wind and wave forecast.
