Thread: temp

Got time for a late trip what's the water temp and a forcast for veteran day weekend. Thanks David for my moment in your article.

November water temps can be 'tricky'.
that month offers more variability than most from the averages...


That being said, it's likely to still be in the low 70s.
Usually that would give a chance for a few spanish or even kings to be around.

David, with all due respect I don't believe this chart. What date range is represented? No way the avg water temp in November is higher than Sept and almost equal to August. Also water temp peaks in August, doesn't it? Certainly not June.

Good observation Tom.
Upon closer inspection I notice that chart is from the buoy for less than one year and there must have been some anomalies.

This graph is more in line with the water temp averages (in blue) ...


And this one looks pretty close showing the actual fluctuations and hi/low temp ranges through the year...


Thanks for the 'good eyes' ole buddy!

So the water temps temps to expect during the second week of November should average around 72 with a range from 69 to 75.

Originally Posted by Green_Steel

David, with all due respect I don't believe this chart. What date range is represented? No way the avg water temp in November is higher than Sept and almost equal to August. Also water temp peaks in August, doesn't it? Certainly not June.

Hint: it is at the top of the chart, 1983-1984
I just looked at a few other years and there is a good bit of variation but typically November is colder water than October. However, there are surprisingly abrupt temperature changes all over the historical records on the OB buoy NDBC Station 42012 Historical Data

Tom, the date range on the top of the chart says 8/83 - 1/84 so that didn't make sense because you wouldn't have any data for May-July.

Any time you take a month-long average, you can have wild swings on any given day average to another or any given hour in a day to another hour on another day. A storm, a current, whatever. This week alone we'll have 80s and 20s on my street, so a monthly average is very deceptive.

Too bad there is no data-collection on the end of the pier like on a buoy. Over time that would be very interesting.

We did have one (sortof like this one @ PCBch Pier) until Hurricane 'Ivan' took it out (along with the pier :-(

Yes, averages (means, modes or whatever) are virtually useless and can actually be misleading.
Thank goodness the water temps aren't quite as diurnally dynamic as air temps, but they aren't static either!
That's why I observe a variety of sources, to determine the range of variability in water temps for the area I plan to fish as well as the current mean average of that range ;-)