Cortez Bank Water Temperature and Wetsuit Guide
(San Diego County, USA)
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Today's Cortez Bank sea temperature is 16.7 °C
(Which is 1.1°C warmer than normal for this time of year)
| Mean: | 15.6 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Range: | 13.7 °C to 17.4 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics for 08 May (1981–2005) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit and neoprene boots.
The Cortez Bank water temperature is rather cool (16 °C) and the air temperature will feel about the same. A good quality spring wetsuit with optional neoprene boots should suffice. No need for wetsuit gloves.
(click thumbnails to expand)
Below is a graph of Historical Sea Surface Temperature for Cortez Bank. This has been derived from analysis of two decades of oceanographic satellite measurements of nearby open water. We have calculated the average water temperature variation around the year as well as the extremes that have been observed on each date.
All of the graphs for the surf breaks presented on Surf-Forecast.com are on the same scale to enable comparison between locations around the world.
Cortez Bank sea temperatures peak in the range 18 to 21°C (64 to 70°F) on around the 5th of September and are at their lowest on about the 5th of February, in the range 13 to 16°C (55 to 61°F). The warmest Cortez Bank sea temperatures at the beginning of September require something like a 3/2mm fully sealed wetsuit. The lowest sea temperatures at Cortez Bank at the beginning of February are ideally suited to a 4/3mm wetsuit + 3mm boots, although a 5/3mm wetsuit may be preferable for longer sessions and cold windy days.
Actual sea surface water temperatures close to shore at Cortez Bank can vary by several degrees compared with these open water averages. This is especially true after heavy rain, close to river mouths or after long periods of strong offshore winds. Offshore winds cause colder deep water to replace surface water that has been warmed by the sun. Air temperature, wind-chill and sunshine should also be considered before deciding on the kind of wetsuit needed to stay warm when surfing at Cortez Bank. Refer to our detailed weather forecasts for this information.



