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Water Temperature Climatology, Myrtle Beach, SC

Select a new site using this map:  Wrightsville Beach, Oak Island, Myrtle Beach, Frying Pan Shoals Buoy

Water temperature climatology information
is available for each site above.  Click for info.

 

Latest Water Temp
86°

Myrtle Beach, located in Horry County, is a part of South Carolina's Grand Strand.  From June through early October water temperatures are practically tropical making this area perfect for swimming and beach activities.  The water cools significantly during the winter months due to cold offshore winds and longer nights. Water temperatures here tend to be both hotter during the summer and cooler during the winter than at Wrightsville Beach, probably due to shallower water depth atop the broad continental shelf. Other beach communities of Horry and Georgetown counties should have very similar water temperatures including Little River, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach, and Pawleys Island.

 

Average Water Temperatures for Myrtle Beach, SC

January

February

March

April

May

June

1-10

11-20

21-31

1-10

11-20

21-29

1-10

11-20

21-31

1-10

11-20

21-30

1-10

11-20

21-31

1-10

11-20

21-30

52

50

49

50

50

51

53

54

59

61

64

67

70

73

76

79

81

82

 

July

August

September

October

November

December

1-10

11-20

21-31

1-10

11-20

21-31

1-10

11-20

21-30

1-10

11-20

21-31

1-10

11-20

21-30

1-10

11-20

21-31

83

84

84

83

83

83

83

81

79

77

73

69

65

62

60

57

55

54

Average values are given for early (1st-10th), mid (11th-20th), and late (21st-31st) each month.

 

Detailed Water Temperature Statistics for Myrtle Beach, SC

Box and Whisker statistical plot.  Colored boxes indicate the 25th through 75th percentiles, with the red/blue center of each box indicating the mean (average) value.  The black whiskers indicate the highest and lowest temperatures ever observed during each roughly 10 day time period throughout the year.

Box and Whisker statistical plot of water temperatures for Myrtle Beach, SC

 

 

Statistical table of water temperature data.  In addition to mean, highest and lowest values for each time period, various percentiles are displayed. 

 

    January     February     March     April     May     June  
  1-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-29 1-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-30 1-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-30
Highest 64.2 57.7 57.2 57.0 56.5 58.3 62.6 65.5 71.1 70.2 70.0 76.3 78.6 82.2 82.9 88.0 88.0 87.8
Upper 0.1% 63.9 57.2 56.5 56.8 56.5 57.7 61.3 64.2 66.6 69.8 69.6 75.2 77.9 81.1 81.9 87.3 87.4 87.6
Upper 1% 63.3 56.1 55.2 56.3 56.1 56.8 60.8 62.6 65.2 68.4 68.5 72.9 75.9 78.8 80.4 86.2 86.4 86.4
Upper 5% 58.6 55.8 54.5 55.6 55.2 55.8 59.7 60.8 63.1 66.9 67.6 71.2 74.7 77.0 79.2 84.0 85.3 84.9
Upper 10% 57.6 54.9 53.2 53.8 54.0 55.4 58.6 59.9 62.6 64.9 66.7 70.5 74.3 75.9 78.4 81.3 83.8 84.4
Upper 25% 54.1 54.0 51.3 51.4 52.7 53.6 56.1 58.6 60.6 63.3 65.7 68.9 72.5 74.7 77.4 80.1 82.2 83.5
MEAN 51.9 50.4 49.2 50.0 50.3 51.3 53.3 55.8 58.5 61.2 64.0 67.0 70.3 72.6 75.7 79.0 81.0 81.9
Lower 25% 50.2 48.0 47.3 47.7 47.8 50.0 50.4 53.6 55.8 59.2 62.2 65.7 68.2 71.1 74.3 77.5 79.5 80.2
Lower 10% 45.0 43.0 44.2 46.6 46.0 46.2 46.9 51.4 54.3 57.0 61.2 63.0 65.8 68.9 72.0 76.6 78.4 79.0
Lower 5% 44.8 42.4 43.9 46.0 45.7 44.6 46.4 50.9 53.6 56.3 60.3 61.7 64.9 66.7 71.2 75.9 78.1 78.4
Lower 1% 43.2 41.5 43.2 45.5 45.1 44.1 44.6 48.6 52.7 55.4 57.7 60.1 64.0 65.5 70.0 74.8 77.5 77.7
Lower 0.1% 42.3 41.0 42.4 44.6 43.9 43.7 44.2 47.5 52.0 55.2 56.5 58.6 63.1 65.1 69.4 71.2 75.7 77.0
Lowest 42.3 41.0 42.3 43.5 43.7 43.7 44.2 47.5 49.8 54.9 56.5 57.4 62.4 65.1 69.1 70.7 74.5 75.7
                                     

 

 

    July     August     September     October     November     December   ANNUAL
  1-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-30 1-10 11-20 21-31 1-10 11-20 21-30 1-10 11-20 21-31  
Highest 87.8 87.6 89.6 90.5 87.8 89.1 88.3 87.6 83.7 82.0 79.5 75.6 74.3 70.3 65.7 64.2 63.9 68.0 90.5
Upper 0.1% 87.4 87.3 89.1 90.1 87.8 88.2 88.0 87.4 83.5 81.9 79.0 74.1 73.9 70.0 65.5 64.0 63.9 67.6 88.3
Upper 1% 86.5 86.9 87.8 89.1 87.4 86.7 87.4 86.7 82.9 81.3 77.5 72.7 72.9 69.4 64.8 63.3 63.0 65.1 86.5
Upper 5% 85.8 86.4 86.9 87.3 86.7 85.8 85.8 86.0 81.9 79.7 77.0 72.0 70.9 67.5 63.3 60.8 61.2 61.0 84.6
Upper 10% 85.3 86.0 86.0 86.0 85.8 85.5 84.9 83.7 81.1 79.2 75.6 71.1 70.2 65.8 62.6 60.1 57.7 57.6 83.5
Upper 25% 84.0 84.9 84.6 84.4 84.7 84.6 83.7 82.4 79.9 78.3 73.9 70.3 67.3 63.5 61.7 58.6 56.5 55.4 80.1
MEAN 82.5 83.6 83.5 83.4 83.4 83.0 82.5 80.8 78.6 76.5 72.8 68.9 65.2 62.1 59.5 56.9 54.6 53.7 67.3
Lower 25% 81.1 82.6 82.6 81.9 82.8 81.7 81.1 78.6 77.4 74.7 71.6 67.8 62.8 60.4 57.4 55.2 53.1 52.2 55.4
Lower 10% 79.7 81.5 81.0 81.1 80.8 80.2 79.7 77.2 75.4 73.4 70.3 65.5 61.7 59.0 55.6 53.8 50.7 50.0 50.7
Lower 5% 79.0 80.6 79.7 80.8 77.4 79.3 79.2 76.1 74.8 72.9 69.3 64.6 60.8 58.3 55.0 52.9 46.9 45.1 48.0
Lower 1% 77.4 79.2 77.7 79.5 75.9 78.6 78.1 75.6 74.1 72.1 68.0 63.9 59.2 57.0 54.3 50.9 45.5 43.3 44.2
Lower 0.1% 77.2 78.6 77.5 78.4 75.7 78.3 77.5 75.4 73.6 71.8 66.9 63.1 58.6 55.9 53.4 49.6 45.2 43.0 42.3
Lowest 77.0 78.6 77.5 78.3 75.6 78.1 77.5 75.2 73.4 71.1 66.7 63.0 58.5 55.6 52.7 49.3 45.0 42.6 41.0
                                       

 

 

After quality control, a total of 920,078 individual water temperature observations were available to calculate the values used in this climatology.  Data was collected from the NOAA/NOS weather and tide station on Springmaid Pier over the period 2005 through 2025. 

Springmaid Pier and the weather station were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew on October 8, 2016.  Water temperature data from the new station became available in November 2023.  Historic weather and tide data for this site is available here.

 

Final weather and tide data from Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach, SC as Hurricane Matthew struck.

Final weather and tide data from Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach, SC as Hurricane Matthew struck in October 2016.  Large crashing waves destroyed the pier and the weather station.

 

Page Author and Statistical Analysis:  Tim Armstrong
Page Created:  July 31, 2014
Last Updated:  July 4, 2025