Weather news
SoCal ocean is the warmest on record for November, 3+ degrees past old mark
By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk · Published · Updated
Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.
What's new: Now confirmed as a November record, more than 3 degrees above the old mark
The ocean off Southern California is running about 75 degrees, the warmest November water on record, and the regional average beat the old November record by 3.2 degrees. It is warmer than the water at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The warm water is not the beach hazard today: high surf and coastal flooding advisories run until noon Pacific.
Key points
- Where: Coastal waters from San Diego and Oceanside through Los Angeles and up toward Santa Barbara.
- When: Buoy readings from early Tuesday morning Pacific time, with the record comparison based on data through November 8.
- What: A regional average of 72.6 degrees on November 8, against an old November record of 69.4 degrees set November 1, 2015. Buoys and piers read 72 to 75.5 degrees.
- What it means: Warm water, but not a calm beach day. Coastal flood and high surf advisories run until noon Pacific for much of the coast.
The ocean off Southern California is the warmest it has ever been in November, with water near 75 degrees from the Los Angeles coast to San Diego as of Tuesday morning, November 10. New observations show the regional average on November 8 beat the old November record by 3.2 degrees, and that is a big gap for a record like this.
That 75-degree water is also warmer than the ocean at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which read 67.1 degrees early this morning.
How the record fell
We checked every November day from 1981 to 2026 in a box that runs from San Diego up past Santa Barbara. The average water temperature in that box on November 8 was 72.6 degrees. The old November high was 69.4 degrees, back on November 1, 2015. That is 3.2 degrees higher.
The first eight days of this November averaged 71.6 degrees. A normal November over 1991 to 2020 would be 63.8 degrees for those same days, so the water is running nearly 8 degrees above normal. The 2026 numbers are near-real-time and still preliminary, so small changes are possible. A gap this size is not likely to disappear.
Individual buoys beat their old marks too
The record shows up at single spots as well as in the average. Buoy 46025 in the Santa Monica Basin read 74.9 degrees on November 6, against 70.4 in 2015. Buoy 46086 read 75.2 degrees, against 72.4 in 2015. The La Jolla gauge near San Diego read 75.5 degrees, against 70.0 in 2014.
Early Tuesday, buoys in Santa Monica Bay, off San Pedro and at the Scripps nearshore station near San Diego all read 75.0 degrees. Oceanside read 74.8, the Santa Monica Basin 74.1, and the Santa Barbara East buoy 73.8. Santa Monica Pier read 72.1 degrees and La Jolla 74.7.
Satellite data from NASA agrees, putting surface water near 75.5 to 75.6 degrees off Santa Monica and San Pedro on November 9. Depending on which long-term baseline you use, the water sits roughly 9.5 to 12 degrees above normal at these spots.
Warmer than Myrtle Beach
Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach read 67.1 degrees at 7:18 AM Eastern. Santa Monica Pier read 72.1 degrees at 4:18 AM Pacific, and La Jolla read 74.7. Piers and buoys use different equipment and sit in different spots, so this is a fair comparison and not a lab-grade one. The gap is still 5 to 8 degrees.
These readings tell us what the water is doing now. They do not tell us how long it stays this warm, so we are not forecasting that.
What to do
The warm water makes the beach tempting, but the surf is up today. Advisories run until noon Pacific:
- San Diego County: surf of 3 to 7 feet on west-facing beaches, with dangerous rip currents.
- Ventura County: breaking waves of 5 to 8 feet, with minor to locally moderate flooding at morning high tide.
- San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Barbara County central coast: waves of 9 to 14 feet, with moderate coastal flooding.
- Orange County and the Malibu coast: minor to locally moderate coastal flooding at morning high tide.
Stay out of the water through midday, and keep kids and pets back from the wet sand. San Diego County's beach hazard statement runs through this evening, so rip currents may last past the flood advisories. You can see every active advisory on our live warnings page and get free texts for your area through Y'all Alerts.
Bottom line
The ocean off Southern California is running about 75 degrees, a November record by more than 3 degrees on the regional average, and warmer than the water at Myrtle Beach. The beach concern today is the surf and rip currents, not the temperature.
| Location | 2026 reading (F) | Old November record |
|---|---|---|
| Regional average, Nov 8 | 72.6 F | Old record 69.4 F (Nov 1, 2015) |
| Buoy 46025, Santa Monica Basin, Nov 6 | 74.9 F | Old record 70.4 F (2015) |
| Buoy 46086 | 75.2 F | Old record 72.4 F (2015) |
| La Jolla gauge | 75.5 F | Old record 70.0 F (2014) |
More on Weather records, November 2026
Places in this story: San Diego, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Myrtle Beach, SC; Santa Barbara, CA
Sources
- NOAA CPC Niño 3.4 sea surface temperature index, NOAA Climate Prediction Center
https://ryanhallyall.com/news/ocean-off-la-is-75-degrees-in-november-about-10-above-normal