We spent a week on vacation last week at Sandbridge Beach, VA which is near Virginia Beach and it was a really good time and definitely needed.

It was CRAZY hot and humid the entire time we were there, like high 90's and high humidity with heat indexes that were like 100-112.

BUT...the ocean water that entire time was absolutely frigid. I never saw such cold water like that in the summer before. Like numb your legs and shrink your junk cold! I think it scared all the fish away because I didn't catch a single fish either surf fishing that week.

My question is: would this be due to ocean currents or something? It was almost like the hotter it got, the colder that water got. Usually in August the water is quite warm there.

Just wondering how that works.

I suspect you might be right about ocean currents but I also wonder about wind currents I know where I live the wind can affect the water temperature by blowing in all of the surface water and warming things up, recirculating the cooler water by the shore. I would wonder if it was blowing the water towards you from the Atlantic if you wouldn’t be getting the chillier stuff… But I am more an inland sea person and gulf waters, so I’m not quite sure about the big oceans.

The Gulf Stream gets kicked out to sea at cape Hatteras, pushing warm water further out to sea.
There is a large current that comes down the east coast from off Nova Scotia and hugs the coast until it runs into Cape Hatteras.
So that water is cooler than the GS.
Locally in Hatteras they call that colder current the Chesapeake Current, and it’s close to shore. The GS is sometimes 30nm out from Wancheese/Oregon Inlet

Try Lake Superior for a dip.It is 64.6. GOM is currently at 88 degrees, bath water.

That 64.6 is Lake Superior surface temp. 18" down its more like 34 deg F!!

It’s all relative. The hotter the air temp, the cooler water will feel until you start hitting bath water temps as you’d find in the coastal Gulf of Mexico.

We were in OCMD in July and I hit the waves at sunup where the ocean felt warmer than mid day in the 90’s where it felt much colder.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
It’s all relative. The hotter the air temp, the cooler water will feel until you start hitting bath water temps as you’d find in the coastal Gulf of Mexico.

We were in OCMD in July and I hit the waves at sunup where the ocean felt warmer than mid day in the 90’s where it felt much colder.

I get that part yes

But this was some sort of anomaly, it was far beyond relative. The water was straight up ice cold this year and all day from when I was standing in it surf fishing at 6:30 am to 3-4 pm that day.

On a hot day, which is rare, the sand on the beaches of Marquette can get hot enough to be very uncomfortable on your bare feetsies. So the tourists run into the lake to cool them off. And last about 30 seconds in the water.
Welcome to the Yoop!

Water temperature in Florida by city
Sea temperature in Miami: 83°F. ...
Sea temperature in Anna Maria Island: 86°F. ...
Sea temperature in Clearwater: 91°F. ...
Sea temperature in Cocoa Beach: 86°F. ...
Sea temperature in Fort Lauderdale: 83°F. ...
Sea temperature in Jacksonville: 81°F. ...
Sea temperature in Key Largo: 85°F.

Link Water Temps Anywhere

It's called upwelling. Winds from the south causes the colder water to be pushed into shore. It seems to happen every time we are at Nags Head. I've seen water temp as low as 57 degrees July 4th weekends sometimes. When you see the surfers wearing wetsuits in the middle of July down there you know that water has to be cold.

It shrinks?

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
On a hot day, which is rare, the sand on the beaches of Marquette can get hot enough to be very uncomfortable on your bare feetsies. So the tourists run into the lake to cool them off. And last about 30 seconds in the water.
Welcome to the Yoop!

My wife and I were looking at that all summer as we were getting the local news in Marquette. Every single day, Maquette was 10-20 degrees warmer than where we were on Lake Huron.

As far as the water temps PASig experienced, I’m curious what the actual water temps were. Google says 75-79, so I’m wondering if it’s a relative thing. Like the water feels colder because you are baking at 110 in the sun.

On a larger scale - I've also heard it called the Labrador current. The tip of Cape Hatteras is often where it meets the Gulf Stream. You can swim just south of the tip and be in warm clear water and walk just north of the tip and be in cold turbid water.

It is a function of the wind direction - an offshore wind blows the warm water out to sea. Upwelling brings the cold water to the surface.

On my first trip to Galveston beach, it was hot and humid. Standing in waist deep water, I couldn't tell where the water ended and the air began.

The Gulf of Mexico is warm right now. Not a good condition to be in at the start of peak hurricane season (Sept 10 +/- 3 weeks) where water temperature "energizes" hurricanes.

The Gulf Stream brings warm water up from the south along the coast but miles off. Along the shore/beaches its always colder. You also have some other currents play close to shore.

When I used to actively wreck dive in the Atlantic, most off NC you wanted to dive the deeper wrecks further offshore. That way you would get into the Gulf Stream. Warmer and much clearer water. While the close-in wrecks meant much shorter boat rides and shallower water temps and visibility sucked underwater. Not to mention the better stuff was in deeper water.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
The Gulf Stream gets kicked out to sea at cape Hatteras, pushing warm water further out to sea.
There is a large current that comes down the east coast from off Nova Scotia and hugs the coast until it runs into Cape Hatteras.
So that water is cooler than the GS.
Locally in Hatteras they call that colder current the Chesapeake Current, and it’s close to shore. The GS is sometimes 30nm out from Wancheese/Oregon Inlet

It is the Labrador Current that runs into the Gulf Stream at Cape Point in Buxton.
The temperature delta between the northern OBX and points south of Buxton can easily be 10 to 15 degrees.