🌊 US Weather Warriors MarineCast — 2026-05-21
Small Craft Advisories blanket the Atlantic coast, Delaware Bay, and Chesapeake Bay as onshore flow ramps up behind a stalling cold front.
Today on the Water: SCAs are active across nearly every Delmarva zone, with the earliest expirations at midday and others running into late afternoon. Onshore northerly to easterly flow is building seas and stacking up chop. Showers are in the mix throughout the day.
Atlantic Coastal Waters (Lewes → southern VA coast): SCA in effect until 12:00 PM EDT for waters from Fenwick Island to the VA/NC border. Expect a rough ride with building easterly seas later in the week — today's setup is the front edge of that. Showers likely.
Delaware Bay: SCA in effect until 4:00 PM EDT for bay waters north and south of East Point/Slaughter Beach. Onshore channeling is the story. Stay tied up unless you have a short, sheltered run.
Chesapeake Bay & Delmarva-facing Waters: SCAs run until 7:00 AM EDT on the northern/mid bay zones and until 12:00 PM EDT on the lower VA bay zones. Northerly channeling is driving the advisory per the LWX discussion, with onshore flow filling in behind the front. Showers around.
Wind & Seas Outlook: Peak winds arrive Friday night and Saturday with E 20–25 kt, gusts to 30 kt. Peak seas Friday night into Saturday at 6–8 ft, occasionally to 12 ft offshore.
Marine Alerts:
- Small Craft Advisory — Atlantic coast Fenwick Island to VA/NC border, until 12:00 PM EDT
- Small Craft Advisory — Delaware Bay (both zones), until 4:00 PM EDT
- Small Craft Advisory — Chesapeake Bay north of Drum Point/Smith Point, until 7:00 AM EDT
- Small Craft Advisory — Lower Chesapeake Bay (Smith Point to Cape Henry), until 12:00 PM EDT
Best Window to be Out: Sunday is the calm spot in the forecast — NE around 5 kt, waves under 1 ft on the Chesapeake. Today is not it.
Worst Window: Friday night — NE 20–25 kt gusting 30, seas 6–8 ft and occasionally 12 ft offshore.
Bottom Line: Today is a stay-in or stay-skinny-water day across Delmarva; wait for the advisories to drop and aim for Sunday.
— US Weather Warriors #DelmarvaWeather #MarineWeather #BoatingWeather