Water temps approaching 90 around FL Keys

[jinftl]

Water temps across Florida are really heating up....in the mid-80's most places...but approaching 90 degrees in parts of the Keys! There has definitely been a steady increase in just the past 5 days as the graphs show.

Graphs from NWS Miami

Long Key buoy:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=lonf1&meas=wtmp&uom=E

Sombrero Key buoy:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=smkf1&meas=wtmp&uom=E

Fowery Rocks station (right offshore Miami)
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=fwyf1&meas=wtmp&uom=E

[windstorm99]

On this page you can click on the bouy links to see the water temps around florida.

[jinftl]

thanks...great link!

where could info on year over year comparisons of water temps be found (ex. how do these water temps compare to June 2006)?

[Aquawind]

I agree jinftl. Just as I posted in the SST thread this morning. I think things are going to show a warm up around the peninsula at least. I see no frontal passages anymore and we have 87-88F in Naples area with alot of time before prime time. Can't speak for the entire Atl but around here it is plenty warm and it will NOT being cooling untill fall. There will be plenty of warm water this season. Will the other factors like shear and SAL be the fly in the ointment is my thought. We should have some good depth on warm water as well.. not like 2005 for multiple majors passing over the same area but were not expecting A 2005 repeat.

[jinftl]

It is quite remarkable to see the steady upward trend in sea temps in just the last 5 days...i am wondering if that is because of a lack of thunderstorms maybe....a good downpour might level things off?

It has been feeling more like 'real summer' here in South Florida.....we are having our first nighttime 'lows' of around 80...afer having lows in the low 70's at night for a while. The air doesn't cool off so the water doesn't either.

[Aquawind]

Without frontal passage and true cool air anything like a storm would be very temporary in cooling of the surface temps. Not having the N-NE winds we experienced in May is making a difference. It's like a normal summer around here now that's all. Hopefully the rains will start up again as the rainy pattern has fizzled this last week for the most part.

[TheShrimper]

Yes, the past week there has been a marked increase in water temps here around Sanibel, Pine Island ect. I was surpised 3-4 weeks ago that they still hadn't catupulted the 80F benchmark, but now like Aqua stated, there aint much thats gonna bring them down or stabalize except cloud cover and upwelling. With no rain forecasted till at least Wed., We'll be at 90F before midweek. Homegrown season may be long and problematic this season for the gulf and caribbean if there are no other inhibiting factors.

[jinftl]

Long Key water temp now 90.3F! Soon the range of temps on the graph (from NWS Miami) will have to be adjusted up!

The graph shows a consistent 0.5-1 degree increase each day since the 21st...in both the daily max and daily min water temps....pretty amazing.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=lonf1&meas=wtmp&uom=E

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Yes, the past week there has been a marked increase in water temps here around Sanibel, Pine Island ect. I was surpised 3-4 weeks ago that they still hadn't catupulted the 80F benchmark, but now like Aqua stated, there aint much thats gonna bring them down or stabalize except cloud cover and upwelling. With no rain forecasted till at least Wed., We'll be at 90F before midweek. Homegrown season may be long and problematic this season for the gulf and caribbean if there are no other inhibiting factors.

I agree. We could see a very severe homegrown season.

[Recurve]

Not necessarily that hot throughout the Straits. It does get bathtub hot around the Keys. I think we've seen 95 or more on sunny beaches on bayside in summer.

closest buoys that do have water temps:
Fowey rocks: 81.8 to 84.4 since June 20.
Long Key: 85 to 90 F.
Molasses Reef 82.4 to 85.2 since June 20
Buoy 42014-C17-W. FL Sea-Coos (Florida Bay): 84 to 94 spike in one day, settled back to around 90.

[SkeetoBite]

We took the boat down to Key West yesterday. We're in a marina by Duval Street. The water temp. is 85F and crystal clear. Winds were 5 kts. or less and the seas were flat calm all the way down. Same conditions are forecast through midday Wednesday.

[TheShrimper]

What it really boils down to, is getting a storm in there where it can take advantage of the SST, without any other adverse factors. The gulf is always going to be warm enough to enhance an established cyclone. What we are reacting on, is the very spontaneous rise in temps in a short period of time. The gulf can only get so warm. The fact that it warmed as quick as it has in a short period of time, only has meaning if conditions allowed something to take advantage of this factor, this early into the season. Climatologically speaking, with early genesis focused in close proximity to these enhanced SST's, one would presume a storm would likely have the capability to be more intense with the above mentioned scenario. That would be true, but we have to have "something" first to work with. That being said, if the above eluded to transpires, yes there could/will be some problems. TheShrimper.

[Patrick99]

I jumped in the water off South Beach a couple days ago, and was surprised at how cool it was. Well, "cool" relatively speaking - still plenty warm for hurricanes, but it wasn't the HOT upper-80s tubwater I was expecting, that it sometimes can be.

[sweetpea]

Just got back last night from a week in Key West, the water was like bath water on the beaches and even further out were we took a catamaran for snorkeling and kayaking. I thought it was early for the water to be that warm, even some of the locals were talking about how early it was to be that warm.

Debbie

[olddude]

There was some VERY heavy waterspout activity yesterday in Marathon. The largest had a duration of 40 min. as opposed to the norm of 15 min. There were 5 spouts in a 65 minute period with a total of 7 for the day.

Unusual for June. I've seen this action in Aug. and Sept. but don't recall it in June.
Scott

[sweetpea]

We saw one of those water spouts as we were driving out of the keys, around Islamorda, it was by a bridge all the cars (including us) were pulling over to the side of the road because it looked like it was going to go into the bridge. I was upset though because my camera was in the trunk and I couldn't get a picture. It was cool to see

[ftolmsteen]

Yeah, the water temps are heating up right on time. Egmont Key, right at the mouth of Tampa Bay, is 88 degrees. Offshore it's still hanging around 82-84, but that's to be expected.