So, I was thinking about a trip down to Fort Lauderdale this past April. The weather forecast looked decent, sunny mostly, but the big question for me was always the water. Can you actually get in the ocean without freezing your bits off?
My Little Research Mission
I didn’t want to just rely on some generic weather app that gives you an “average” temp. Those can be way off, you know? My first thought was hitting up my friend Dave, he practically lives on that beach half the year. Called him up.
His expert opinion? “Eh, it’s usually pretty nice, man.” Thanks, Dave. Super specific.
Alright, time for plan B. I figured I’d try finding some live beach cams. Sometimes they have the water temperature displayed right there. Spent maybe 20 minutes clicking around, watching waves roll in, which was kinda relaxing, but no temperature readout on the cams I found. Felt like I was getting sidetracked.
Digging Deeper
Okay, needed real numbers. I started searching around online, but specifically looked for forums. You know, places where boaters or fishermen hang out. Those folks usually have a good handle on the actual water conditions, not just air temp.
- Scrolled through some local fishing forums.
- Checked out a couple of sailing community boards for South Florida.
- Looked for posts specifically from around April, or recent reports.
And bingo! Started seeing people actually talking about it. Mentioning getting out on the water, what the conditions were like. The numbers they were throwing around seemed pretty consistent.
The Verdict on April Water Temps
Most folks were saying the water was sitting in the mid-to-upper 70s Fahrenheit. Like, somewhere between 75°F and maybe 79°F seemed to be the common range people were experiencing right then or in previous Aprils.
That sounded pretty good to me. Not exactly hot tub temperature, but definitely warm enough to swim comfortably, at least for me. Way better than the chilly Pacific I’m used to sometimes.
Just to be sure, I did a quick cross-check on one of those NOAA buoy data sites, the official government ones. And yeah, the data lined up. It confirmed those mid-to-upper 70s numbers for Fort Lauderdale during April.
So, the swim trunks definitely made it into the suitcase. And when I actually got down there? The water felt just about right. A little cool when you first dipped a toe, but really pleasant once you got in. Glad I did my homework instead of just guessing or trusting Dave!
