Mexico Beach water temperature by month

Swimmable from April through November.

Month by month

Month Typical Feels
January 58° brisk
February 63° brisk
March 68° refreshing
April 73° perfect
May 80° bath-warm
June 84° bath-warm
July 87° bath-warm
August 88° bath-warm
September 84° bath-warm
October 77° perfect
November 71° refreshing
December 62° brisk

The year at a glance

swimmable 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 88° 58° JFMAMJJASOND January: typically 58° — brisk February: typically 63° — brisk March: typically 68° — refreshing April: typically 73° — perfect May: typically 80° — bath-warm June: typically 84° — bath-warm July: typically 87° — bath-warm August: typically 88° — bath-warm September: typically 84° — bath-warm October: typically 77° — perfect November: typically 71° — refreshing December: typically 62° — brisk

The water right now

Typically about 77° in October — perfect.

from the Panama City bay station, about 20 miles down the coast

perfect

bath-warm 80° and up perfect 72–79° refreshing 65–71° brisk below 65° 77° typical for October

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 Panama City bay station sits in the bay, which can run a few degrees off the open surf.

Reading from the Panama City bay station, about 20 miles down the coast. That's a long way down the coast — treat this as the area's surf temperature, not the sandbar in front of you.

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