Fort Myers Beach water temperature by month

Swimmable from February through November.

Month by month

Month Typical Feels
January 67° refreshing
February 73° perfect
March 76° perfect
April 79° perfect
May 85° bath-warm
June 87° bath-warm
July 89° bath-warm
August 88° bath-warm
September 87° bath-warm
October 80° bath-warm
November 75° perfect
December 69° refreshing

The year at a glance

swimmable 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 89° 67° JFMAMJJASOND January: typically 67° — refreshing February: typically 73° — perfect March: typically 76° — perfect April: typically 79° — perfect May: typically 85° — bath-warm June: typically 87° — bath-warm July: typically 89° — bath-warm August: typically 88° — bath-warm September: typically 87° — bath-warm October: typically 80° — bath-warm November: typically 75° — perfect December: typically 69° — refreshing

The water right now

Typically about 80° in October — bath-warm.

from the Fort Myers harbor station, about 14 miles away

bath-warm

bath-warm 80° and up perfect 72–79° refreshing 65–71° brisk below 65° 80° 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 Fort Myers harbor station sits in the harbor; open-water surf can read a few degrees different.

Reading from the Fort Myers harbor station, about 14 miles away.

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