Wondering what the water clarity is like on the Outer Banks? Well, there’s no straightforward answer besides: “it changes all the time.”

One of the most majestic parts about the Outer Banks (in my opinion) is the volatility of the weather and natural elements. Our strand of barrier islands is not only over 200 miles long (making it possible to have totally different weather conditions in two places) but they’re the eastern most stretch of continental U.S. in the Atlantic Ocean. This makes us extremely susceptible to both excellent weather/ocean conditions, and severe weather and harsh conditions.

Don’t be deterred. For the majority of late spring, summer, and early fall, the Atlantic Ocean portions off the Outer Banks are very tame and very clear. Wind speed and direction have a great impact on water conditions and clarity, so gentle breezes under 10mph coming from the right directions are favorable. Going a few days without any major storms and swells also leads to a clearer ocean water.

A quick cheat sheet on Outer Banks wind: N = colder air, NE = colder air + choppy warm water, E = warm water, SE = warm air + warm water, S = warm air, SW = warm air + sandy water, W = sandy water, and NW = cooler air + sandy-ish water.

Now that our wind lesson is over, take a gander at some of these pictures from the last few weeks. All of these were just regular days and the water stays that way unless there’s a significant weather event to “reset it” per se. It’s easy to see the multiple faces the Atlantic Ocean can have…. when the wind picks up and the clouds come out, the ocean looks a certain way. When the sky opens up and light breezes are at play, you get a very pretty day!