Virginia Beach Alert Guide

Virginia, USA · part of the Virginia Beach spot guide

The Cape Henry buoy (44099) is a waves-only Waverider that reports no wind, so this observation alert keys on swell only — judge wind separately. The height below is open-ocean, and the wide continental shelf saps it, so the breaking face runs notably smaller.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Look for a source first — a tropical system sending southeast-to-east-southeast swell (August to October), or a nor’easter sending northeast-to-east-northeast (November to March).
2. 2.Read the Cape Henry buoy (44099) for period first — 10 seconds or more, ideally 12-to-16 — since the wide shelf punishes short-period swell.
3. 3.Want direction in the roughly 30-to-170° window, best around 120 to 150° for tropical or northeast-to-east-northeast for winter lows.
4. 4.Judge wind separately — the buoy has no wind field — and want a west, northwest or southwest offshore, best in the early-morning window before the sea breeze.
5. 5.Aim for mid-to-high tide, skip dead low, and remember the buoy reads bigger than the face after the shelf tax.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: W–NW–SW offshore (dawn) — from 225° to 315° (SW–NW).

Tide matters — best on the higher stages, around high tide, when the sandbars fill in and the jetty peak stands up; the inside gets shallow, dumpy and closes out at dead low.

Dial it in