Lemon Bay & Charlotte Harbor
Manasota Key Water Temperature
Lemon Bay flats and the Gulf beaches north of Stump Pass.
Sea-surface temperature
WarmHolding steady · last two weeks
That is about 5°F warmer than average for this time of year, and holding steady over the last two weeks. The November average here is 74°F.
Updated Saturday, November 7 — sea-surface temperature modeled for Manasota Key by Open-Meteo.
For swimming
Warm
About as good as it gets — warm enough to stay in for hours without getting chilled.
For fishing
Peak season
Snook, redfish and tarpon are all active and feeding. The tarpon migration through the passes runs at the upper end of this range.
The last two weeks
| Date | Average |
|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 78.1°F |
| Oct 26 | 77.7°F |
| Oct 27 | 77.5°F |
| Oct 28 | 77.2°F |
| Oct 29 | 77.5°F |
| Oct 30 | 77.9°F |
| Oct 31 | 78.1°F |
| Nov 1 | 78.3°F |
| Nov 2 | 78.1°F |
| Nov 3 | 78.1°F |
| Nov 4 | 78.4°F |
| Nov 5 | 78.8°F |
| Nov 6 | 79.2°F |
| Nov 7 | 79.2°F |
Manasota Key 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 | Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
JanJanuary Bracing | 59–69°F | 65°F |
FebFebruary Cool but comfortable | 62–74°F | 68°F |
MarMarch Cool but comfortable | 67–77°F | 73°F |
AprApril Warm | 74–81°F | 77°F |
MayMay Very warm | 78–88°F | 83°F |
JunJune Very warm | 82–88°F | 86°F |
JulJuly Bath water | 86–90°F | 89°F |
AugAugust Bath water | 85–91°F | 89°F |
SepSeptember Very warm | 85–89°F | 87°F |
OctOctober Warm | 76–87°F | 81°F |
NovNovembernow Cool but comfortable | 69–79°F | 74°F |
DecDecember Cool but comfortable | 65–73°F | 68°F |
Warmest
89°FJuly
Coolest
65°FJanuary
Warmest on average in July at 89°F; coolest in January at 65°F.
The water at Manasota Key
Manasota Key runs between Lemon Bay and the Gulf just north of Stump Pass, offering protected grass flats on the bay side and open surf on the Gulf side. Trout and redfish work the Lemon Bay flats and oyster bars, snook prowl the beach and the pass in summer, and pompano show in the surf on the cleaner water. It's quintessential quiet-water Charlotte County fishing.
Lemon Bay & the Gulf
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 Manasota Key; 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 Manasota Key right now?
- The water at Manasota Key is currently about 79°F (26°C). The November average here is 74°F.
- Is the water warm enough to swim at Manasota Key in November?
- November averages 74°F at Manasota Key, which most people would call cool but comfortable. Refreshing rather than cold — comfortable once you're past the first minute.
- When is the water warmest at Manasota Key?
- July is the warmest month on average at 89°F, and January the coolest at 65°F. 7 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.