Cape Hatteras Point Water Temperature
The Point at Cape Hatteras is the most productive stretch of surf on the East Coast, and it earns that by geography: Diamond Shoals bends cold northern water and warm southern water into each other right off the beach. The current seams that result stack bait, and everything that eats bait follows. Water temperature here can differ sharply from Avon a few miles north — the two sides of the Cape are genuinely different fisheries.
Water Temperature
2.8° difference across Diamond Shoals. Cold shelf water meets Gulf Stream–tempered water at the Point, so the two sides fish differently on the same day. There is no single temperature here.
Nearest sensors on each side of the Point, from 17 stations.
Temperature Lines
None of the tracked lines — 55°, 62°, 68°, 72° — cross the coast near here right now. In midsummer the whole coast is past 72°, and in deep winter it is all below 55°, so there is no line to point at. They reappear as the water turns.
Recent Trend
Satellite View
Sea-surface temperature around Cape Hatteras Point, 1 km satellite grid.
Satellite pass September 11. This is skin temperature seen from orbit, a day or two behind, and it gets unreliable within a few miles of the beach where land warms the pixel. It is not the reading above — that comes from sensors in the water. Use the map for the shape of things offshore: the Gulf Stream edge, upwelling, and the breaks between warm and cold water.
Along the Coast
Distance measured along the shoreline. North is up.
Species Bands at This Temperature
Temperature ranges anglers associate with these fish. Not a forecast — fish move for reasons a thermometer cannot see.
- King Mackerel70–85°
Water is inside this band now. Summer fish.
- Spanish Mackerel68–78°
About 4° outside the band. Thin below about 66°.
- Pompano68–78°
About 4° outside the band. Peak in the mid-70s.
Access
Cape Hatteras National Seashore. 4WD with aired-down tires and an NPS ORV permit required for beach access. Ramp 44 to the Point; seasonal closures for nesting shorebirds are common in spring and summer.
Best Seasons
Target Species Here
Know when Cape Hatteras Point turns
We watch the water and send a note when it crosses a temperature band at this spot. A handful of times a season, never more than once a week. No catch reports, no promises about fish — just what the water did.
Fishing Cape Hatteras Point?
We build rigs and jigs specifically for these waters. Hand-tied, pull-tested, and ready to fish.