Average Ocean Temperatures for Virginia, Maryland and Delaware

Average ocean temperatures for the mid-Atlantic coast, from Virginia to Delaware, are listed below for each month in degrees Fahrenheit and degrees Celsius.

Along this stretch of ocean beaches, the water averages above 70 °F (21 °C) during the summer.

Some of the warmest sea water is at Solomons Island in Maryland, a fishing village and boating resort located where the Patuxent River empties into Chesapeake Bay. Ocean temperatures there typically reach 83 °F (28 °C) in August.

The coolest water measured along the mid-Atlantic coast is at Ocean City, Maryland's beach resort town near Assateague Island. Water along its exposed shores gets down to 34 °F (1 °C) in February and takes longer to warm up in spring. Even so, the ocean reaches a comfortable swimming temperature from August to mid-September.

Although farther north, the water off beaches at Lewes, at the entrance to Delaware Bay, is several degrees warmer than the surf at Ocean City.

These coastal water temperatures are averages compiled by the National Oceanographic Data Center. Actual ocean temperatures do vary from year to year depending upon the weather and the flow of ocean currents.