Treasure Coast
Stuart Water Temperature
The 'Sailfish Capital' — St. Lucie Inlet and the river system.
Sea-surface temperature
Very warmWarming · last two weeks
That is about 3°F warmer than average for this time of year, and warming over the last two weeks. The November average here is 79°F.
Updated Saturday, November 7 — sea-surface temperature modeled for Stuart by Open-Meteo.
Out in the open Gulf, NOAA buoy 41010 — 156 miles offshore — is reading 83°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
| Date | Average |
|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 78.4°F |
| Oct 26 | 78.1°F |
| Oct 27 | 77.5°F |
| Oct 28 | 77.2°F |
| Oct 29 | 77.5°F |
| Oct 30 | 78.1°F |
| Oct 31 | 78.4°F |
| Nov 1 | 79.2°F |
| Nov 2 | 79.5°F |
| Nov 3 | 79.7°F |
| Nov 4 | 79.9°F |
| Nov 5 | 80.4°F |
| Nov 6 | 81°F |
| Nov 7 | 81.5°F |
Stuart 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 Cool but comfortable | 64–76°F | 72°F |
FebFebruary Cool but comfortable | 67–78°F | 74°F |
MarMarch Warm | 73–78°F | 75°F |
AprApril Warm | 75–79°F | 77°F |
MayMay Warm | 78–84°F | 81°F |
JunJune Very warm | 80–85°F | 83°F |
JulJuly Very warm | 83–88°F | 85°F |
AugAugust Very warm | 84–88°F | 86°F |
SepSeptember Very warm | 84–87°F | 86°F |
OctOctober Warm | 77–86°F | 81°F |
NovNovembernow Warm | 74–82°F | 79°F |
DecDecember Warm | 69–78°F | 75°F |
Warmest
86°FAugust
Coolest
72°FJanuary
Warmest on average in August at 86°F; coolest in January at 72°F.
The water at Stuart
Stuart sits where the St. Lucie River, the Indian River Lagoon, and the Atlantic all meet at St. Lucie Inlet, and it calls itself the Sailfish Capital of the World for good reason — the Gulf Stream runs close and the winter sailfish bite is genuinely world-class. Inshore, snook and tarpon work the inlet and the river mouths, and redfish and trout hold the grass. Lake Okeechobee discharges can stain the river badly in a wet year.
St. Lucie Inlet & the St. Lucie River
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 Stuart; 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 Stuart right now?
- The water at Stuart is currently about 82°F (28°C). The November average here is 79°F.
- Is the water warm enough to swim at Stuart in November?
- November averages 79°F at Stuart, which most people would call warm. About as good as it gets — warm enough to stay in for hours without getting chilled.
- When is the water warmest at Stuart?
- August is the warmest month on average at 86°F, and January the coolest at 72°F. 10 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.