Marine Zone Expansion
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Several river forecast points will be upgraded to daily forecasts on April 28th
New Conditional Intensities in the Storm Prediction Center's Convective Outlooks
Local Marine Zones Expanding Out to 60 NM Offshore in April 2026
National Hurricane Center Product/Service Changes for 2026 Hurricane Season
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NWS Wilmington, NC
Weather Forecast Office
Marine Zone Expansion
Weather.gov
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> Marine Zone Expansion
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National Weather Service Wilmington NC
Marine Zone Expansion to 60 NM Offshore
OVERVIEW
Beginning on or about April 16, 2026, National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Wilmington, NC (ILM) will assume forecast, watch, and warning responsibility for the coastal waters from Surf City, NC to South Santee River, SC from 20 to 60 Nautical Miles (NM) offshore. Routine forecast services for these waters were previously the responsibility of the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), with warning responsibility divided between WFO ILM and OPC. This change is part of a regional improvement that will result in all forecasts and warnings for coastal waterways within 60 NM of shore originating from the local WFO across the entire Contiguous United States (CONUS). There will be no change to the current forecast and warning services provided by WFO ILM for coastal waterways within 20 NM of shore.
JUSTIFICATION
The coastal waterways are lifelines of commerce in the eastern Carolinas, frequented by commercial, recreational, and research vessels year-round. Major shipping lanes pass just off our coast, with ships passing just east of Cape Fear to minimize the distance needed to traverse between critical ports in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. Additionally, fishermen often leave local ports bound for offshore fishing sites such as artificial reefs and the Gulf Stream. These activities primarily take place within 60 NM of shore, with mariners depending on reliable weather forecasts from the National Weather Service to ensure the safety of themselves and their crew, passengers, and cargo while on the water.
The Graphic above shows that a significant amount of cargo and tanker vessels traverse about 15-60 NM offshore of the the coast of the Carolinas. Expanding WFO ILM forecast and warning responsibility to 60 NM offshore will thus cover significantly more commercial traffic.
With the redesignation of all forecast and warning responsibility for the coastal waters within 60 NM of shore to the local WFO, users will experience these benefits:
Improved
forecast service continuity
, with local WFO’s now responsible for issuing routine forecasts and warnings for all marine waters out to 60 NM offshore for the entire CONUS.
Increased number of forecast parameters
with temperature, precipitation chances, and weather type among the parameters that are now available for mariners from 20 to 60 NM offshore out to 5 days in the future.
Improved forecast resolution
, with point and click forecast capability now enabling mariners to get hourly forecasts for specific points (such as offshore artificial reefs) anywhere within 60 NM of shore out to 5 days in the future.
Expanded suite of short and long-fused watch/warning and advisory products
to alert mariners to the potential for a variety of hazardous weather conditions.
WFO’s now have the capability to deliver
Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS)
to partners in support of incident response for incidents that occur anywhere within 60 NM of shore.
ZONE CHANGE DESCRIPTIONS
The areal extent of the new marine zones was largely established by maintaining the current location and orientation of the along-coast zone breaks for the nearshore marine zones and extending them to meet a line which runs approximately 60 NM off the coast. The following graphics and table illustrate the new area covered by these zones.
Marine Zones that were the responsibility of NWS Wilmington NC (NWS ILM) before the expansion
Offshore Marine Zones that were the responsibility of the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) before the expansion
The above graphic shows the previous alignment of marine zones with top map showing zones that were the responsibility of the local WFO.
The above graphic shows the
NEW
alignment of marine forecast zones with light and dark blue zones now being the responsibility of the local WFO. All coastal waters to 60 NM offshore  from Surf City, NC to the South Santee River, SC will now receive forecasts and warnings from NWS Wilmington, NC (NWS ILM).
AREA
PREVIOUS ZONE NAME(S)
PREVIOUS ZONE NUMBER(S)
NEW ZONE NAME
NEW ZONE NUMBER
Ocean Waters from the Onslow/Pender County Line to the tip of Cape Fear and then south to NC/SC border (Little River Inlet), from 20 to 60 NM offshore
Waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC from 20 to 40 nm
(ILM)
Waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC from  20 to 40 nm
(ILM)
Cape Hatteras to Cape Fear to 100 NM Offshore (Partial, OPC)
Cape Fear to 31N out to 1000 Fathoms (Partial, OPC)
AMZ270
AMZ272
ANZ833
ANZ835
Waters from Surf City NC to Little River Inlet SC from 20 to 60 NM
AMZ280
Ocean Waters from SC/NC border (Little River Inlet) south to Georgetown/Charleston County Border (South Santee River) from 20 to 60 NM offshore
Waters from Little River Inlet SC to Murrells Inlet SC from 20 to 40 nm
(ILM)
Waters from Murrells Inlet SC to South Santee River SC from 20 to 40 nm
(ILM)
Cape Fear to 31N out to 1000 Fathoms (Partial, OPC)
AMZ274
AMZ276
ANZ835
Waters from Little River Inlet SC to South Santee River SC from 20 to 60 NM
AMZ284
FORECAST RESOURCES
WFO ILM's (NWS Wilmington NC) products affected by these changes are listed in the table below:
Product Name
WMO Header
AWIPS ID
Coastal Waters Forecast
FZUS52
CWFILM
Marine Weather Message
WHUS72
MWWILM
Special Marine Warning
WHUS52
SMWILM
Marine Weather Statement
FZUS72
MWSILM
Watch County Notification
WWUS62
WCNILM
Marine users have several options for directly receiving official National Weather Service forecasts and warnings:
NOAA Weather Radio
One of the most immediate and reliable ways to receive forecasts, watches, and warnings for the waterways of eastern North Carolina is through
NOAA Weather Radio
. The following table and map outline the best transmitter for area waterways:
AREA
TRANSMMITTER LOCATION
TRANSMITTER FREQUENCY
Coastal
Waters from Onslow/Pender County Border Line (Surf City NC) south to Apache Pier in Horry County SC (south of Little River Inlet SC)
Covers AMZ250, AMZ252, and portions of AMZ254 and AMZ280
Winnabow, SC (KHB-31)
162.550 mhz
Coastal
Waters from Shallotte River Inlet in Brunswick County NC (north of Little River Inlet SC)
south to Winyah Bay in Georgetown County SC (north of South Santee River SC)
Covers AMZ254 and portions of AMZ252 and AMZ256
Aynor, SC
(KEC-95)
162.400 mhz
Coastal Waters from Myrtle Beach in Horry County SC south to South Santee River and continues south to Bulls Bay in Charleston County SC.
Covers AMZ256 and portions of AMZ254
Georgetown, SC (WNG-628)
162.500 mhz
Online
Routine forecasts and warnings for mariners in eastern North Carolina waters can be found online at
weather.gov/ilm/marine
Alternatively, to get the forecast for a specific point, visit
weather.gov/marine/point
and click on the map or enter you lat/lon.
Telephone
Recorded area marine forecasts can be accessed by calling
(910)762-4289
Press 0 then Press 2.
CONTACT
Please submit any questions or comments to:
Steve Pfaff
Meteorologist-in-Charge
National Weather Service
Wilmington NC
2015 Gardner Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28405
(910)762-4289
steven.pfaff@noaa.gov
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE (not available yet)
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