Bradenton Beach water temperature by month

Swimmable from March through November.

Month by month

Month Typical Feels
January 61° brisk
February 67° refreshing
March 72° perfect
April 77° perfect
May 84° bath-warm
June 87° bath-warm
July 89° bath-warm
August 89° bath-warm
September 86° bath-warm
October 79° perfect
November 72° perfect
December 65° refreshing

The year at a glance

swimmable 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 89° 61° JFMAMJJASOND January: typically 61° — brisk February: typically 67° — refreshing March: typically 72° — perfect April: typically 77° — perfect May: typically 84° — bath-warm June: typically 87° — bath-warm July: typically 89° — bath-warm August: typically 89° — bath-warm September: typically 86° — bath-warm October: typically 79° — perfect November: typically 72° — perfect December: typically 65° — refreshing

The water right now

Typically about 79° in October — perfect.

from the Port Manatee station, about 15 miles away

perfect

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

Seaweed season

The Florida Gulf coast from the Big Bend down to Naples is mostly free of sargassum, all year, however much of it is out at sea.

This is the lab's own finding rather than a quiet season: it reports this stretch mostly free of sargassum whatever the amount floating out in the Gulf. The Panhandle, west of the Big Bend, is a different coast and is not covered by it.

This is a pattern, not a forecast. The lab that watches this says plainly that predicting seaweed on an individual beach is difficult or impossible — whether it comes ashore depends on winds, tides and currents nobody can call ahead. The bulletins track how much is out there and look about a month on.

From the Sargassum Watch System, the Optical Oceanography Lab at the USF College of Marine Science. Read the current bulletin for this month's outlook.

About this reading

The Port Manatee station sits in the harbor; open-water surf can read a few degrees different.

Reading from the Port Manatee station, about 15 miles away.

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