How do the ocean temperatures of each coast (Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico) compare? Which coast is most comfortable to swim in? How much do temperatures change year round?

19 comments

1. Both are warmer the closer to the equator. So Florida is warmer than Alaska which is colder than Ecuador which is warmer than Argentina

2. Personally? I always thought the Pacific was warmer, as this was my experience traveling in countries that have access to both.

   However, apparently the Atlantic is warmer.

3. The Atlantic, starting in Virginia and south is warm. North of Virginia, it’s cold. I haven’t spent too much time on the Gulf but I think it is warm as well. The Pacific is cold.

   Virginia is about ideal to me. I’ve been swimming in South Carolina and the water was almost too hot.

4. The gulf is pretty warm IME. feels good.

5. The most comfortable (to me) is the Gulf on the west coast of Florida.

   Miami or PR in the Atlantic is sweet as well

   The Atlantic in NY is too cold (again, imo)

   ——

   The Pacific < the Atlantic < Gulf of Mexico

6. Pacific starts off cold and as it flows south gets warmer, while the Atlantic starts off warm and gets colder as it flows north. So, pacific gets cold wet storms, while Atlantic get warm wet storms. A “Coast” is pretty damn big so not sure you can really ask the question about which one is more comfortable…

7. The Gulf is the warmest and calmest, so probably the best for swimming. Temperatures are relatively constant.

   The Atlantic is fairly warm in the southeast and gets colder the farther north you go. Seasonal variation is significant, in the Mid-Atlantic it’s in the 30s in February and 70s in August.

   The US Pacific coast has relarively cold water due to the currents, which flow south from Alaska. The water in the Pacific around Hawaii is warm.

8. The water on the coast of California is so cold all year. The east coast of the US varies more during the year, and can be very warm.

9. There is over 2,000 miles of Atlantic coast in the US, and will vary greatly from north (cold) to south (hawt)

   There is over 1,600 miles of Gulf coast, which is pretty warm to hawt throughout.

   There is just shy of 1,300 miles of Pacific Coast that will vary widely. 7,600 miles, if you include Alaska & Hawaii.

10. The water in the Deep South/SoFlo (Caribbean) is warm enough to swim year round. This includes the beautiful beaches of the Gulf- Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama.

    The water on the upper Eastern Seaboard is warm and pleasant in mid-July into early September. At the beginning of the summer it is too cold imho but very nice once it warms up.

    The California beaches, including SoCal, have much cooler water but nicer year-round climate to be outside than NY/NJ/Delaware. Nice for tide pooling, surfing, and in the summer swimming. I feel like the beaches are way more windy and I get pelted with sand.

    I personally prefer the Gulf/Caribbean waters to swim in, and SoCal for outdoorsy aquatic activities. 🌊

11. I have swam in all 3, at different latitudes. Given the same latitude, the Pacific is the coldest (along the US coasts at least), the Atlantic is warmer and the Gulf is warmer than the Atlantic.

12. I can only speak for the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico, but the Gulf of Mexico is delightfully warm, whereas the Pacific has been colder than snot the few times I’ve tried to swim in it (Washington and Oregon coasts).

13. The Gulf of Mexico is reeaaaaally warm. Shallow, too. Ocean currents keep the Pacific beaches relatively chilly. Atlantic beaches get cooler the farther north from Florida you go.

14. Texas Gulf Coast is pretty warm, but you can’t see any deeper than maybe 8 inches. We have brown sand that’s very light so it stays suspended in the water. I never liked going to the beach because you can’t see what you are stepping on.

15. The Pacific Ocean in California is cold, never been to the Gulf of Mexico but I know the Atlantic is typically pretty warm

16. Native West coaster here. The Pacific Ocean is very, *very* cold. As in, you cannot swim in it without a wetsuit for at least half the year without risking hypothermia. Even when it’s technically safe enough (i.e. during the hottest days of summer, which in places like San Francisco might only reach 75 degrees) it’s typically uncomfortable enough to ruin the fun of swimming for more than a minute or two. In addition to the cold temperatures, many of the coasts along northern California, Oregon, and Washington are prone to rip currents, which can make swimming seriously unsafe if not deadly under the right conditions.

    There’s a particular variation of these dangerous waves that we always called “sneaker waves,” but I’ve also heard them referred to as rogue waves or sleepers – they can come out of nowhere and knock you off your feet before abruptly sweeping you out to sea. I was taught NEVER to turn my back on the ocean as a result, and unfortunately dozens of people die every year on Pacific beaches after getting caught in one.

    Even during summertime, any coastal region north of San Francisco all the way up to the Canadian border is not going to have a ton of recreational swimmers. Throughout Northern California and the Pacific Northwest there are still tons of coastal towns, obviously, and there is a beach culture, but the type of “beach day” swimming where you’re splashing around happily in temperate waters is not really a thing.

    When we went to the beach growing up in San Francisco, it was typically to go on hikes along the (stunningly-gorgeous) cliffs and bluffs in the region north of the city. There are cool tide pools to explore as well as unusual formations like sea caves, so a day at the beach might look like getting bundled up in a windbreaker and boots to tromp along the shore looking at wildlife and maybe foraging seafood. There’s also a pretty significant windsurfing/sailing culture, so it’s not that people don’t enjoy the beach so much as it just tends to look different than it does in the rest of the US.

17. Everyone here is correct in saying that the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are warmer than the Pacific. However, you can thank ocean currents for that: the West Coast gets a cold current from Alaska, while the Gulf and East Coasts enjoy the warm current originating in the Caribbean, which is also ultimately responsible for making Europe warmer than it would be for its latitude.

18. The Gulf Stream flows north through the Atlantic, causing most of the East Coast’s waters to be warmer in comparison to the pacific, due to warmer gulf water flowing northward. I believe in the Pacific, the water tends to move from North to South, causing the opposite to be true for the west coast.

19. The pacific ocean is fucking freezing. The entire pacific coast is cold and windy once you get much north of Santa Barbara. The beaches here are beautiful but rocky and cold.