Santa Rosa Beach water temperature by month

Swimmable from April through November.

Month by month

Month Typical Feels
January 60° brisk
February 63° brisk
March 67° refreshing
April 72° perfect
May 79° perfect
June 83° bath-warm
July 84° bath-warm
August 87° bath-warm
September 84° bath-warm
October 78° perfect
November 72° perfect
December 63° brisk

The year at a glance

swimmable 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 100° 87° 60° JFMAMJJASOND January: typically 60° — brisk February: typically 63° — brisk March: typically 67° — refreshing April: typically 72° — perfect May: typically 79° — perfect June: typically 83° — bath-warm July: typically 84° — bath-warm August: typically 87° — bath-warm September: typically 84° — bath-warm October: typically 78° — perfect November: typically 72° — perfect December: typically 63° — brisk

The water right now

Typically about 78° in October — perfect.

from the Panama City Beach pier station, about 23 miles down the coast

perfect

bath-warm 80° and up perfect 72–79° refreshing 65–71° brisk below 65° 78° 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 Beach pier station sits on a pier in the surf zone — about as close to the swim water as a sensor gets.

Reading from the Panama City Beach pier station, about 23 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.