Forgotten Coast
Carrabelle Water Temperature
The Carrabelle River, Dog Island, and the run to Gulf hard bottom.
That is about 2°F warmer than average for this time of year, and holding steady over the last two weeks. The September average here is 84°F.
Updated Sunday, September 20 — sea-surface temperature modeled for Carrabelle by Open-Meteo.
Out in the open Gulf, NOAA buoy 42036 — 94 miles offshore — is reading 86°F. Deep water offshore runs cooler than the shallows in summer and warmer in winter, so it won't match the beach.
For swimming
Very warm
Bath-warm. Pleasant, though it stops being much relief from the heat of the day.
For fishing
Hot — fish the edges of the day
Early and late is the play. Through the middle of the day fish drop into deeper channels and passes where there's moving water and more oxygen.
The last two weeks
Daily average sea-surface temperature, °F.
Carrabelle water temperature by month
Averaged from 3 years of daily sea-surface temperature (2023–2025). The range column is the coolest and warmest daily average recorded in that month over the period — a guide to how much any given year can differ, not a record high and low.
| Month | Average | Range | Swimming |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57°F | 51–62°F | Cold |
| February | 62°F | 56–69°F | Bracing |
| March | 68°F | 62–73°F | Cool but comfortable |
| April | 73°F | 69–79°F | Cool but comfortable |
| May | 80°F | 74–85°F | Warm |
| June | 85°F | 80–90°F | Very warm |
| July | 88°F | 87–90°F | Bath water |
| August | 89°F | 86–91°F | Bath water |
| Septembernow | 84°F | 81–89°F | Very warm |
| October | 77°F | 71–83°F | Warm |
| November | 70°F | 64–77°F | Cool but comfortable |
| December | 61°F | 56–66°F | Bracing |
Warmest on average in August at 89°F; coolest in January at 57°F.
The water at Carrabelle
Carrabelle is a working fishing town at the mouth of the Carrabelle River, with Dog Island offshore breaking the Gulf swell and St. George Sound stretching west. Inshore it's trout, redfish, and flounder over grass and oyster; offshore, this is one of the shorter runs on the Panhandle to gag grouper and red snapper hard bottom. The whole area still feels like Florida did fifty years ago.
the Carrabelle River & St. George Sound
What moves the water temperature here
The Gulf shelf off this coast is shallow, which is why the water swings so much more between summer and winter than open ocean at the same latitude does. Shallow water heats fast and gives that heat up fast: a single strong winter cold front can pull the inshore bays several degrees down in a couple of days, while the beaches a mile offshore barely move. Wind direction matters too — a sustained offshore breeze can pull cooler water up from below and drop the beach temperature noticeably in a morning.
Inshore bays, canals and flats run warmer than the beach through the summer and colder through the winter, for the same reason. The reading above is for the open water at Carrabelle; expect the back bays to be a few degrees either side of it depending on the season.
Common questions
- What is the water temperature at Carrabelle right now?
- The water at Carrabelle is currently about 86°F (30°C). The September average here is 84°F.
- Is the water warm enough to swim at Carrabelle in September?
- September averages 84°F at Carrabelle, which most people would call very warm. Bath-warm. Pleasant, though it stops being much relief from the heat of the day.
- When is the water warmest at Carrabelle?
- August is the warmest month on average at 89°F, and January the coolest at 57°F. 6 months of the year average 75°F or above.
- Why does the water temperature change so quickly here?
- The Gulf shelf off this coast is shallow, so it heats and cools far faster than deep open ocean. A strong winter cold front can pull the inshore water down several degrees in a couple of days, and a sustained offshore wind can drop beach temperatures in a single morning by pulling cooler water up from below.