Florida Water Temperature in Winter (2026): Where It's Still 70°F
Table of Contents
Florida's warmest winter ocean water is on the southeast coast, not in the Keys. Averaged over the last five winters of NOAA station records (2021 to 2025), January water ran about 75°F at Lake Worth Beach in Palm Beach County, 73°F at Virginia Key in Miami and 72°F in Key West. The Cocoa Beach area averaged 69°F, Clearwater 64°F, and Jacksonville and the Panhandle 58°F to 60°F.
The tables below give Florida water temperature in winter, November to April, at nine coastal stations run by NOAA, from Pensacola to Key West. Every figure is an average of daily readings from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center archive, worked out for this guide. The short version: if you want to swim in January without gritting your teeth, book south of Palm Beach or in the Keys.
Florida Water Temperature in Winter, Month by Month
Average water temperature for each month, 2021 to 2025. To convert, 70°F is 21°C and 60°F is about 16°C.
| Station (nearby beaches) | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Worth Beach (Palm Beach County) | 80°F | 78°F | 75°F | 75°F | 76°F | 78°F |
| Miami (Virginia Key) | 79°F | 76°F | 73°F | 75°F | 77°F | 79°F |
| Key West | 78°F | 75°F | 72°F | 75°F | 78°F | 80°F |
| Marathon (Middle Keys) | 77°F | 74°F | 72°F | 75°F | 78°F | 80°F |
| Cocoa Beach area (Port Canaveral) | 77°F | 72°F | 69°F | 71°F | 75°F | 79°F |
| Clearwater Beach | 72°F | 68°F | 64°F* | 67°F* | 73°F* | 78°F* |
| Panama City Beach | 71°F | 64°F | 60°F | 62°F | 67°F | 71°F |
| Jacksonville area (Mayport) | 69°F | 63°F | 59°F | 60°F | 64°F | 71°F |
| Pensacola (bay station) | 69°F | 62°F | 58°F | 60°F | 68°F | 73°F* |
* Four years instead of five: NOAA has no Clearwater readings for January to April 2025, and Pensacola's April 2024 record is incomplete.
Three patterns stand out. The southeast coast holds its warmth best through December and January. The Keys cool more in midwinter but warm fastest in spring, passing Palm Beach by March. And the Gulf side runs several degrees colder than the Atlantic side at the same latitude: Clearwater and the Port Canaveral pier sit within half a degree of latitude of each other, yet Clearwater averaged 64°F in January against 69°F on the Atlantic side.
January, the Coldest Month: How Often Is It 70°F?
A monthly average hides the cold snaps that arrive behind winter fronts. This table counts every January day from 2021 to 2025 and shows how often the day's average water temperature reached 70°F, plus the coldest single day in those five Januaries.
| Station | January average | January days at 70°F or warmer | Coldest January day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Worth Beach (Palm Beach County) | 75°F | 99% | 70°F |
| Miami (Virginia Key) | 73°F | 93% | 68°F |
| Key West | 72°F | 76% | 66°F |
| Marathon (Middle Keys) | 72°F | 64% | 61°F |
| Cocoa Beach area (Port Canaveral) | 69°F | 48% | 63°F |
| Clearwater Beach | 64°F | 3% | 56°F |
| Panama City Beach | 60°F | 0% | 54°F |
| Jacksonville area (Mayport) | 59°F | 0% | 50°F |
| Pensacola (bay station) | 58°F | 0% | 47°F |
Lake Worth Beach is the standout: 99% of January days averaged 70°F or more, and its coldest day in five years still averaged about 70°F. In Key West three January days in four reach 70°F; in Marathon it is closer to two in three, and a strong front can push the water down to about 61°F. North of Cape Canaveral, and anywhere on the Gulf Coast, a January day at 70°F is rare or unheard of in this record.
Why Palm Beach Beats Key West in January
It surprises people, but the numbers are consistent: Lake Worth's January average was higher than Key West's in every one of the five years, by 1.8°F to 4.1°F. The usual explanation is the Gulf Stream, the warm current that, as the Historical Society of Palm Beach County puts it, flows nearest the Florida coast along Palm Beach County.
The Keys have the opposite setup. They sit in shallow water on both sides, and shallow water gives up its heat quickly when a cold north wind blows through. That is the likely reason the Keys swing further in a cold snap: Marathon's coldest January day (61°F) was about nine degrees colder than Lake Worth's (70°F). The Keys make it back by spring. By March, Key West and Marathon both average 78°F, and by April 80°F, the warmest water in this table.
For a Keys trip, the water is the point. The best beaches in the Florida Keys are few and small, so it pays to time the trip: in Key West, February (75°F) and March (78°F) are noticeably warmer than January (72°F).
What These Temperatures Feel Like
The National Center for Cold Water Safety advises treating any water below 70°F (21°C) with caution, and the National Weather Service notes that the involuntary gasp of cold shock can be triggered by water as warm as 77°F (25°C). In practice that splits Florida's winter coast into two groups:
- Swimming water (72°F to 80°F): Palm Beach County, Miami and the Keys from November through April, with the Keys at their coolest, about 72°F, in January.
- Wading or wetsuit water (58°F to 68°F): Jacksonville, the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast from December through February. The Cocoa Beach area sits on the line at 69°F in January.
These are averages for water a metre or two below the surface at a pier or harbor. Shallow water right at the shoreline warms up on a sunny afternoon and cools fastest on a cold night, so the surf can feel a few degrees different from the table on any given day.
Where to Go Each Month
- November: the whole southern half of the state still has summer-like water. Every station from Port Canaveral south averaged 77°F to 80°F; Clearwater averaged 72°F and Panama City Beach 71°F.
- December: the southeast coast is the safest bet, at 78°F in Palm Beach County and 75°F in Key West. The Cocoa Beach area drops to 72°F, Clearwater to 68°F, and the Panhandle and Jacksonville to the low 60s.
- January: the coldest month everywhere. Palm Beach County (75°F) and Miami (73°F) are the only stations where nine days in ten reached 70°F.
- February: the Keys and Miami recover to 75°F; the Cocoa Beach area reaches 71°F.
- March: the Keys lead at 78°F, Palm Beach County 76°F, and Clearwater climbs back to 73°F, the Gulf Coast's first comfortable month.
- April: the Keys reach 80°F and Clearwater 78°F. Jacksonville and Panama City Beach finally average about 71°F, and the bay station at Pensacola 73°F.
The Gulf Coast and Panhandle in Winter: Honest Expectations
The Gulf Coast is a fine winter base for walking the beach, but not for long swims. Clearwater Beach averaged 64°F in January, and only 3% of January days reached 70°F. Panama City Beach averaged 60°F, and in five winters not one January day reached 70°F. The Pensacola station sits in Pensacola Bay rather than on the Gulf beach, so treat its 58°F as a rough guide for Pensacola Beach. For the Panhandle's beaches in their best season, see the guide to the best beaches in the Florida Panhandle.
Southwest Florida falls in between. NOAA's Naples station has no water readings after 2022, so it is left out of the tables, but its two winters before that (2021 and 2022) averaged about 68°F in January, between Clearwater and the Keys.
Seaweed and Red Tide This Winter
Sargassum seaweed is mostly a spring and summer problem in Florida. The University of South Florida's October 2026 bulletin said beaching around Florida should be negligible in the months ahead; the sargassum forecast page tracks each new bulletin.
Red tide is the one to watch this year, and it is in the Panhandle. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's November 6, 2026 report found the red tide organism at bloom concentrations in six samples from Gulf County (Port St. Joe and Cape San Blas), with suspected red tide fish kills in Bay and Gulf counties and respiratory irritation reported in Gulf County. It found only background levels in one Pinellas County sample, and none on the east coast. The FWC posts a new status report every Friday afternoon, so check the latest one before a Gulf Coast trip.
How These Numbers Were Calculated
- Source: the standard meteorological files in NOAA's National Data Buoy Center archive for nine National Ocean Service water-level stations, which record water temperature every six minutes. The station pages give exact positions, such as Lake Worth Pier.
- Period: calendar years 2021 to 2025, giving five Novembers, Decembers, Januaries, Februaries, Marches and Aprils at most stations.
- Method: readings were averaged into daily means (days with fewer than 12 readings were dropped), daily means into a monthly mean for each year, and the yearly monthly means into the five-year averages shown. Months with fewer than 15 good days were left out.
- Cleaning: a few physically impossible warm readings were removed, most notably five days at Lake Worth Pier (January 31 to February 4, 2022) when the sensor reported 84°F to 90°F water. Real cold snaps were kept.
- What the stations measure: water roughly 1 to 4 metres deep at a pier, harbor or inlet, not the surf zone. Virginia Key and Mayport sit near inlets, and Pensacola is in the bay.
For a family trip where the kids will be in the water all day, the southeast coast is the winter pick; the guide to the best family beach resorts in Florida lists options on both coasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the warmest ocean water in Florida in winter?
On the southeast coast. Over the 2021 to 2025 winters, NOAA's Lake Worth Pier station in Palm Beach County averaged 75°F in January, ahead of Virginia Key in Miami (73°F) and Key West (72°F). Lake Worth reached 70°F on 99% of January days.
Is the water warm enough to swim in Florida in December?
South of Cape Canaveral, yes for most people: December averaged 78°F in Palm Beach County, 76°F in Miami, 75°F in Key West and 72°F near Cocoa Beach. On the Gulf Coast it is cooler, about 68°F at Clearwater, and the Panhandle and Jacksonville average 62°F to 64°F.
How cold is the water in Key West in January?
Key West averaged 72°F in January over 2021 to 2025. About three January days in four reached 70°F, and the coldest January day in that period averaged 66°F. By March the water is back to 78°F.
Is the Gulf or the Atlantic side of Florida warmer in winter?
The Atlantic side. At almost the same latitude, Clearwater Beach on the Gulf averaged 64°F in January while Trident Pier at Port Canaveral on the Atlantic averaged 69°F. The gap closes by April, when Clearwater averages 78°F.
What is the water temperature in Miami in February?
NOAA's Virginia Key station, just off Miami, averaged 75°F in February from 2021 to 2025, and 98% of February days averaged 70°F or warmer.
Can you swim at Panama City Beach or Pensacola in winter?
Only briefly, or in a wetsuit. Panama City Beach averaged 60°F in January and 62°F in February, and not one January day from 2021 to 2025 reached 70°F. The Pensacola station, in Pensacola Bay, averaged 58°F in January. By April the Panhandle averages 71°F to 73°F.
When does the water warm up again on Florida's Gulf Coast?
March. Clearwater Beach averaged 73°F in March and 78°F in April over 2021 to 2025, after 64°F in January. The Panhandle lags by about a month, reaching about 71°F in April.
Where do these water temperatures come from?
From NOAA. They are five-year averages (2021 to 2025) of daily water temperatures recorded every six minutes at nine National Ocean Service stations, taken from the National Data Buoy Center's historical archive. The stations measure water a metre or more deep at piers and harbors, not right at the shoreline.
