MarineZoneExpansion

Morehead City National Weather Service

Marine Zone Expansion to 60 NM Offshore

OVERVIEW

Beginning on or about March 3, 2026, National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Newport/Morehead City, NC (MHX) will assume forecast, watch, and warning responsibility for the coastal waters from South of Currituck Beach Light to Surf City, NC 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 MHX 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 MHX for coastal waterways within 20 NM of shore.

JUSTIFICATION

The coastal waterways are lifelines of commerce in eastern North Carolina, frequented by commercial, recreational, and research vessels year-round. Major shipping lanes pass just off our coast, with ships passing just east of Diamond Shoals and Cape Lookout Shoals 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 above graphic shows that the majority of fishing and recreational vessel activity is within 40 NM of shore, with vessels often traversing beyond the previous 20 NM offshore extent of forecasts from WFO MHX.

The Graphic above shows that most cargo and tanker vessels traverse about 15-60 NM offshore of the Outer Banks. Expanding WFO MHX forecast and warning responsibility to 60 NM offshore will 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.

The above graphic shows the previous alignment of marine zones with blue zones being 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 south of Currituck Light to Surf City, NC will now receive forecasts and warnings from NWS MHX.

AREA	PREVIOUS ZONE NAME(S)	PREVIOUS ZONE NUMBER(S)	NEW ZONE NAME	NEW ZONE NUMBER
Ocean Waters from the Dare/Currituck County Line to Oregon Inlet, from 20 to 60 NM offshore	Waters from Currituck Beach Light to Oregon Inlet NC from 20 to 40 NM (MHX), Cape Charles Light to Currituck Beach Light to 100 NM offshore (Partial, OPC) Currituck Beach Light to Cape Hatteras to 100 NM offshore (Partial, OPC)	AMZ170 ANZ828 ANZ830	Waters from S of Currituck Beach Light to Oregon Inlet NC from 20 to 60 NM	AMZ180
Ocean Waters from Oregon Inlet to Cape Hatteras, from 20 to 60 NM offshore	Waters from Oregon Inlet to Cape Hatteras NC from 20 to 40 NM (MHX) Currituck Beach Light to Cape Hatteras to 100 NM offshore (Partial, OPC)	AMZ172 ANZ830	Waters from Oregon Inlet to Cape Hatteras NC from 20 to 60 NM	AMZ182
Ocean Waters from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke Inlet, from 20 to 60 NM offshore	Waters from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke Inlet NC from 20 to 40 NM (MHX) Currituck Beach Light to Cape Hatteras to 100 NM offshore (Partial, OPC) Cape Hatteras to Cape Fear to 100 NM Offshore (Partial, OPC)	AMZ174 ANZ830 ANZ833	Waters from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke Inlet NC from 20 to 60 NM	AMZ184
Ocean Waters from Ocracoke Inlet to Cape Lookout, from 20 to 60 NM offshore	Waters from Ocracoke Inlet to Cape Lookout NC from 20 to 40 NM (MHX) Cape Hatteras to Cape Fear to 100 NM Offshore (Partial, OPC)	AMZ176 ANZ833	Waters from Ocracoke Inlet to Cape Lookout NC from 20 to 60 NM	AMZ186
Ocean Waters from Cape Lookout to Surf City, from 20 to 60 NM offshore	Waters from Cape Lookout to Surf City NC from 20 to 40 NM (MHX) Cape Hatteras to Cape Fear to 100 NM Offshore (Partial, OPC) Cape Fear to 31N to 1000 FM (Partial, OPC)	AMZ178 ANZ833 ANZ835	Waters from Cape Lookout to Surf City NC from 20 to 60 NM	AMZ188

FORECAST RESOURCES

WFO MHX's products affected by these changes are listed in the table below:

Product Name	WMO Header	AWIPS ID
Coastal Waters Forecast	FZUS52	CWFMHX
Marine Weather Message	WHUS72	MWWMHX
Special Marine Warning	WHUS52	SMWMHX
Marine Weather Statement	FZUS72	MWSMHX
Watch County Notification	WWUS62	WCNMHX

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 off the northern Outer Banks north of Oregon Inlet. Croatan, Roanoke, and eastern Albemarle Sounds and their immediate tributaries.	Mamie, NC (WWH-26)	162.425 mhz
The coastal waters from Oregon Inlet to Ocracoke Inlet. The Pamlico Sound.	Cape Hatteras, NC (KIG-77)	162.475 mhz
Coastal Waters from Ocracoke Inlet to Surf City. Pamlico and Neuse Rivers and their immediate tributaries.	New Bern, NC (KEC-84)	162.400 mhz