Why are Florida beaches warmer than California?

Same latitude, different temps The East Coast doesn't have the same conditions that contribute to our chilly ocean temperatures. The warm Gulf Stream current flows from south to north, bringing warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea up past Florida and along the coast.



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The short answer is yes. California has some very scenic beaches, but the water is very cold even in summer and the Pacific Ocean is often very wavy, which is great if you are a surfer, but not for most other folks. Florida has whiter, finer sand and warm water pretty much year round.

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Our sand tends to be coarser and more golden colored than the white powdery sand on the gulf beaches. On a calm day, California beaches usually have bigger waves than Florida beaches because our part of the Pacific tends to be rougher and a whole lot colder than Florida's part of the Atlantic.

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The movement of Alaskan and northern ocean currents southward down the west coast results in much cooler ocean temperatures than at comparable latitudes on the east coast of the United States, where ocean currents come from the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic.

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Why is the water in Florida so hot? Simply put, the rise in water temperature is due to a combination of things. Long-term changes in the earth's climate are a contributing factor, but so is the lack of wind on the surface of Florida's oceans, which is a side effect of climate change.

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