Gulf Shores water temperature by month

Swimmable from April through November.

Month by month

Month Typical Feels
January 65° refreshing
February 64° brisk
March 67° refreshing
April 72° perfect
May 80° bath-warm
June 85° bath-warm
July 87° bath-warm
August 87° bath-warm
September 85° bath-warm
October 80° bath-warm
November 74° perfect
December 69° refreshing

The year at a glance

swimmable 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 87° 64° JFMAMJJASOND January: typically 65° — refreshing February: typically 64° — brisk March: typically 67° — refreshing April: typically 72° — perfect May: typically 80° — bath-warm June: typically 85° — bath-warm July: typically 87° — bath-warm August: typically 87° — bath-warm September: typically 85° — bath-warm October: typically 80° — bath-warm November: typically 74° — perfect December: typically 69° — refreshing

The water right now

Typically about 80° in October — bath-warm.

from an offshore Gulf buoy, about 16 miles away

bath-warm

bath-warm 80° and up perfect 72–79° refreshing 65–71° brisk below 65° 80° typical for October

Alabama's main beach town — sugar-white sand running from the state park pier east toward Perdido Pass, and Gulf water that stays bath-warm from June into September.

Jellyfish and sea lice

What usually turns up on the Florida Panhandle and the Alabama coast, and when.

  • The drifters arrive first. The extension office here reports Portuguese man-of-war and by-the-wind sailors coming in early — one year they turned up in February — with the sea nettles and moon jellies later in the summer. UF/IFAS Extension's Escambia County office — So when are the jellyfish going to be here?
  • Which side of the island you swim on can matter more than the month: the same office notes that when jellyfish are numerous on the Gulf side they are usually not in the sound behind it, and the other way round. UF/IFAS Extension's Escambia County office — So when are the jellyfish going to be here?
  • Sea lice is more a south Florida and Caribbean complaint than a northern Gulf one — it has been reported down there for decades, and reports from this stretch of coast are not common. UF/IFAS Extension — They call it "sea lice"

This is what a season usually looks like, not a forecast of any particular week. Jellyfish drift on wind and current, so the people who watch them say there are tendencies but no guarantees — the lifeguard flags on the day beat any calendar.

About this reading

The reading comes from an offshore Gulf buoy riding about 16 miles out; the surf zone usually reads close to it, though sun-warmed shallows can run warmer on calm afternoons.

Reading from an offshore Gulf buoy, about 16 miles away.

Warm water says nothing about surf, rip currents, or bacteria — check local lifeguard flags and advisories.