Texas Gulf Coast
Padre Island Seashore Water Temperature
Miles of undeveloped national seashore — drivable sand, open surf, and quiet Laguna flats behind.
That is about 4°F warmer than average for this time of year, and holding steady over the last two weeks. The October average here is 82°F.
Updated Saturday, October 3 — sea-surface temperature modeled for Padre Island Seashore by Open-Meteo.
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.
Padre Island Seashore 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 | 61°F | 55–68°F | Bracing |
| February | 62°F | 59–66°F | Bracing |
| March | 68°F | 62–72°F | Cool but comfortable |
| April | 74°F | 71–78°F | Cool but comfortable |
| May | 81°F | 75–85°F | Warm |
| June | 85°F | 83–88°F | Very warm |
| July | 86°F | 84–88°F | Very warm |
| August | 87°F | 86–89°F | Very warm |
| September | 86°F | 83–88°F | Very warm |
| Octobernow | 82°F | 76–86°F | Very warm |
| November | 75°F | 66–80°F | Warm |
| December | 68°F | 62–74°F | Cool but comfortable |
Warmest on average in August at 87°F; coolest in January at 61°F.
The water at Padre Island Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore protects the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island left in the country, and driving south down the beach is the whole experience — pavement ends, the sand gets softer the farther you go, and the crowd thins to nothing. Surf anglers work the guts between bars for redfish, black drum, whiting, and sharks, and the fall run down this beach is one of the best land-based fisheries in Texas. Behind the island the Laguna Madre lies clear and salty over grass beds, and the whole strip sits on the central flyway, so shorebirds, raptors, and migrating songbirds pile up here in season. Take the beach seriously: soft sand strands vehicles without four-wheel drive, there is no shade and no water once you leave the pavement, and summer heat out there is unforgiving.
the national seashore surf & the Laguna
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 Padre Island Seashore; 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 Padre Island Seashore right now?
- The water at Padre Island Seashore is currently about 86°F (30°C). The October average here is 82°F.
- Is the water warm enough to swim at Padre Island Seashore in October?
- October averages 82°F at Padre Island Seashore, 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 Padre Island Seashore?
- August is the warmest month on average at 87°F, and January the coolest at 61°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.