Ocean water off Florida breaks jaw-dropping 100 degrees

Ocean water off the southern tip of Florida broke a scorching 100 degrees for back-to-back days this week in a potentially record-breaking event that has stunned experts.

Temperature readings on a buoy at Manatee Bay soared to 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday evening and hit 100.2 degrees on Sunday night, according to National Weather Service meteorologist George Rizzuto.

“This is a hot tub. I like my hot tub around 100, 101. That’s what was recorded yesterday,” said Yale Climate Connections meteorologist Jeff Masters. “We’ve never seen a record-breaking event like this before.”

Typical hot tub temperatures should range between 100 and 102 degrees, according to the hot tub maker Jacuzzi.

There is no official record-keeping for seawater temperatures and a number of conditions would have to be met in order for the sweltering numbers to be validated. But weather forecasters believe the Florida waters could have set a new world record.

“It seems plausible,” Rizzuto said. “That is a potential record.”

The highest known ocean surface temperature hit 99.7 degrees in Kuwait Bay in July 2020, according to a study published the same year. There is, however, no official list of the top water temps.

The 100+ temps could be invalidated due to a number of conditions in the area, including a shallow depth, seagrass presence and warm land in the nearby Everglades National Park.

Even so, water temperatures in the area have remained in the upper 90s for more than two weeks and nearby buoys recorded waters reaching 98 and 99 degrees on Sunday and Monday.

The two consecutive days of 100+ temperatures also lend credence to the readings, University of Miami tropical meteorologist Brian McNoldy said.

The jaw-dropping temperatures come as air temperatures have broken heat records and Florida has gotten few of its typical sea breezes.

Elsewhere in the waters off the Sunshine State, coral reefs are being bleached due to the sizzling water temperatures.