Ocracoke
Windsurf spot · United States
Is it worth the trip?
4Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: not enough of the right wind, 14 kn gusting 19, cross-offshore, Water: chop
Tue 3 · 19 out of 100
- Wind
- NE 14 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Shore
- cross-off
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 21°C
Wed 4 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ENE 10 kn
- Gusts
- 13kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 23°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- SE 7 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 23°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- SSE 6 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 23°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- WNW 9 kn
- Gusts
- 13kn
- Shore
- on
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 20°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NE 6 kn
- Gusts
- 12kn
- Shore
- cross-off
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 19°C
Mon 9 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ENE 11 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 21°C
Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 234, poor
- Tue 319, poor
- Wed 40, poor
- Thu 50, poor
- Fri 60, poor
- Sat 70, poor
- Sun 80, poor
- Mon 90, poor
- Tue 1031, poor
The spot in six facts
- Faces Wopen to the W
- Best wind: N or Salong the shore
- Avoid: Eblows out to sea
- Shelteredto the swell
- Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit
- Best Feb–Mar4 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score | Wind | Gusts | Shore | Water | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 34, poor | wind from the north-east, 16 knots | 22kn | cross-off | chop | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 19, poor | wind from the north-east, 14 knots | 19kn | cross-off | chop | 21°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-north-east, 10 knots | 13kn | offnot safe | chop | 23°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, poor | wind from the south-east, 7 knots | 9kn | offnot safe | chop | 23°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, poor | wind from the south-south-east, 6 knots | 9kn | offnot safe | chop | 23°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, poor | wind from the west-north-west, 9 knots | 13kn | on | chop | 20°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-east, 6 knots | 12kn | cross-off | chop | 19°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-north-east, 11 knots | 14kn | offnot safe | chop | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 31, poor | wind from the west-south-west, 15 knots | 19kn | side-on | chop | 20°C |
Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovHigh 00:55 +0.1 mLow 06:35 −0.1 mHigh 13:25 +0.2 mLow 19:47 −0.1 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 02:25 +0.1 mLow 08:00 −0.1 mHigh 14:32 +0.1 mLow 20:40 −0.1 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 03:37 +0.2 mLow 09:24 −0.0 mHigh 15:32 +0.1 mLow 21:26 −0.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best Feb–Mar
Good windsurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov3of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.
Map
the spot and its town
Ocracoke on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Ocracoke
Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces W, so wind from the E blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).
Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
A spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing W. Wind from the W blows onshore, wind from the E blows out to sea, and wind from the N or S runs along the shore. It is sheltered to the open sea. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 33.3 km out (1 in 3333). The sea is about 12°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 28°C in July, its warmest (no wetsuit). For windsurfing at expert level the best months are usually February and March, with about 4 good days in 7; in August, about 1. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ocracoke.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$951–US$1,720 each
about US$951–US$1,720 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to ORF, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$154–US$322 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$154–US$255 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$301–US$502 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$636 |
| Total | about US$951–US$1,720 |
Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Ocracoke
about 5 min by car · 30 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Ocracoke its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 7h 40m
About 7h 40m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → ORF, direct, then 3h 45m by road
Flights MDW → ORF on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.