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.

Actual ocean temperatures do of course vary from year to year depending upon the weather and the flow of ocean currents.

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 US National Oceanographic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Average ocean temperature in °F
  Kiptopeke VA Solomons Island MD Ocean City MD Lewes DE
VA MD MD DE
January 36 37 37 37
February 39 37 34 36
March 46 43 42 41
April 54 53 50 51
May 63 64 56 60
June 70 74 63 68
July 77 80 69 73
August 78 83 71 76
September 75 76 70 72
October 64 64 62 62
November 54 57 53 52
December 44 45 44 44
Annual 58 59 54 56
Water temperature averages in °C
  Kiptopeke VA Solomons Island MD Ocean City MD Lewes DE
January 2 3 3 3
February 4 3 1 2
March 8 6 6 5
April 12 11 10 11
May 17 18 13 16
June 21 23 17 20
July 25 27 20 23
August 25 28 22 24
September 24 24 21 22
October 18 18 17 16
November 12 14 12 11
December 7 7 7 7
Annual 15 15 12 13
Reference

National Oceanographic Data Center. NOAA. NODC Coastal Water Temperature Guide (CWTG).

Atlantic Temperatures
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