Kiawah Island Sea Temperature

Looking to find out what the sea water temperature in Kiawah Island is for today and the next few days? Below are data and charts that will give you information about sea temperatures in Kiawah Island and nearby locations.

Water temperature in Kiawah Island right now

Below is the current sea temperature for Kiawah Island, United States on January 10, 2026.

Today

Yesterday

A week ago

Water at this temperature is cold and will feel very cold initially, but the body will get used to it and longer swims are possible. Experienced swimmers can manage several hours of swimming, however hypothermia is still a very big risk.

The average sea temperature for Kiawah Island on January 10 over the last 10 years is 13.67° C (56.6° F), with a low temperature of 8.96° C (48.13° F) and a high of 15.98° C (60.76° F).

Analysis and forecast for Kiawah Island water temperatures

The water temperature in Kiawah Island today is the same as the average temperature of 13.67° C (56.6° F) and the temperature on this day last year was 13.67° C (56.6° F).

The chart and table below shows the change in water temperature in Kiawah Island over the last 30 days:

DateTemperature (Celsius)Temperature (Fahrenheit)
January 1013.67° C56.6° F
January 913.91° C57.04° F
January 813.94° C57.09° F
January 714.12° C57.42° F
January 613.87° C56.96° F
January 513.8° C56.84° F
January 413.89° C57.01° F
January 314.06° C57.31° F
January 214.13° C57.44° F
January 114.24° C57.64° F
December 3114.14° C57.46° F
December 3014.19° C57.55° F
December 2914.26° C57.67° F
December 2814.18° C57.52° F
December 2714.12° C57.42° F
December 2614.32° C57.77° F
December 2514.18° C57.53° F
December 2414.27° C57.69° F
December 2314.29° C57.73° F
December 2214.41° C57.93° F
December 2114.67° C58.41° F
December 2015° C58.99° F
December 1915.29° C59.52° F
December 1815.22° C59.39° F
December 1715.23° C59.41° F
December 1615.12° C59.22° F
December 1515.22° C59.41° F
December 1415.35° C59.63° F
December 1315.32° C59.58° F
December 1215.53° C59.95° F

The actual nearshore temperatures may vary by several degrees and this can also be heavily affected by weather. Strong winds can cause cold, deep waters to replace the surface waters that had been warmed by the sun, and heavy rain can also reduce the temperature of the sea surface temperature as well.

Water temperature in Kiawah Island by month

The chart below shows the monthly average water temperature in Kiawah Island.

For more detailed information on how the sea temperature in Kiawah Island changes for each month of the year, choose from the months below.

Kiawah Island map and nearby water temperatures

Kiawah Island sea temperature map

Locations near Kiawah Island

Why measure sea surface temperatures (SST) in Kiawah Island?

The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, and scientists record the sea surface temperature (SST) of locations such as Kiawah Island because they want to understand and learn how the ocean communicates with the atmosphere of Earth.

SST is one measure that provides information on the global climate, and it can be used to predict the weather in Kiawah Island as well as atmospheric model simulations and to study marine ecosystems in the area.

Data source and citation

Raw data for the calculations made to find the sea surface temperature in Kiawah Island comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their 1/4° daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature.

The water temperature data is constructed by combining observations from different platforms (satellites, ships, buoys, and Argo floats) on a regular global grid. A spatially complete sea surface temperature map is then built by interpolating to fill in gaps in the data.

If you'd like to use any of the information above in the format it is presented, please use the citation tool below.