🌊 US Weather Warriors MarineCast — 2026-05-31
Small Craft Advisories blanket the Atlantic coastal waters and lower Chesapeake — it's a stay-close-to-port kind of Sunday for most boaters.
Today on the Water: Multiple SCAs are active from Cape May down to the NC border and across the lower Chesapeake, with the longest one running on the middle Bay through Monday 8 AM. Northeast winds and a stacked offshore swell are driving rough seas along the coast. Radar is quiescent — no convective cells within 50 nm of Delmarva right now.
Atlantic Coastal Waters (Lewes → southern VA coast): Expect rough offshore conditions through the day under the SCAs. Conditions ease late: by Thursday night winds drop to E 10 kt becoming W after midnight, with seas settling to 5-6 ft (occasional 9 ft). Showers possible at times.
Delaware Bay: The sheltered story of the day. Winds NW around 5 kt becoming S around 5 kt late, seas 1 foot or less. Clean window for Bay boaters.
Chesapeake Bay & Delmarva-facing Waters: SCA in effect on the middle/lower Bay through Monday 8 AM — channeling from the wind shift to southerly is the driver per LWX. Calmest stretch is overnight with N winds 5 kt and waves under 1 ft. Lower Bay zones (Drum Point to Smith Point, Tangier Sound) stay rough.
Wind & Seas Outlook: Peak winds Tuesday into Wednesday with NE 20-25 kt gusting 30 kt. Peak seas Tuesday on the Atlantic at 6-7 ft, occasionally to 10 ft.
Marine Alerts:
- Small Craft Advisory — NJ/DE coastal waters out 20 NM, until 6:00 PM EDT today
- Small Craft Advisory — Fenwick Island to Parramore Island VA, until 6:00 PM EDT today
- Small Craft Advisory — Parramore to Cape Charles Light, until 10:00 AM EDT today
- Small Craft Advisory — Cape Charles to Currituck Beach Light NC, until 6:00 PM EDT today
- Small Craft Advisory — Middle Chesapeake (Drum Point to Smith Point, Tangier Sound), until 8:00 AM EDT Monday
- Beach Hazards Statement — Eastern Currituck and Virginia Beach, until 8:00 PM EDT today
Best Window to be Out: Delaware Bay today — light NW-to-S winds and glassy water make it the only stress-free option.
Worst Window: Wednesday on the Atlantic — NE 20-25 kt gusting 30, seas 6-7 ft with 10 ft peaks and showers.
Bottom Line: Stay on the Delaware Bay or the dock today — coastal and lower Chesapeake waters are SCA rough and not worth the beating.
— US Weather Warriors #DelmarvaWeather #MarineWeather #BoatingWeather