Big Bend
Horseshoe Beach Water Temperature
One of the last quiet fishing towns on the Big Bend.
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 Monday, September 21 — sea-surface temperature modeled for Horseshoe Beach by Open-Meteo.
Out in the open Gulf, NOAA buoy 42036 — 99 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.
Horseshoe Beach 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 | 56°F | 51–62°F | Cold |
| February | 62°F | 56–69°F | Bracing |
| March | 68°F | 62–74°F | Cool but comfortable |
| April | 74°F | 69–79°F | Cool but comfortable |
| May | 81°F | 74–86°F | Warm |
| June | 85°F | 80–89°F | Very warm |
| July | 88°F | 86–90°F | Bath water |
| August | 88°F | 85–91°F | Bath water |
| Septembernow | 84°F | 81–88°F | Very warm |
| October | 77°F | 71–84°F | Warm |
| November | 70°F | 64–78°F | Cool but comfortable |
| December | 61°F | 56–65°F | Bracing |
Warmest on average in July at 88°F; coolest in January at 56°F.
The water at Horseshoe Beach
Horseshoe Beach is a tiny town at the end of a long county road, with a ramp, a marina, and not much else — which is why the fishing is good. The Gulf here is shallow and grassy for miles, broken by oyster bars and creek mouths that hold redfish and trout, and the same flats fill with scallops in summer. It is skinny, hard-bottom country that rewards knowing the water.
the Big Bend flats
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 Horseshoe Beach; 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 Horseshoe Beach right now?
- The water at Horseshoe Beach is currently about 86°F (30°C). The September average here is 84°F.
- Is the water warm enough to swim at Horseshoe Beach in September?
- September averages 84°F at Horseshoe Beach, 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 Horseshoe Beach?
- July is the warmest month on average at 88°F, and January the coolest at 56°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.