Hi Jill,

Thanks for the report - I've been following the weather pretty closely via:

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=chav3

and it looks like the hottest it gets during the day is 82. Hottest the water gets is 79/maybe 80. That's at Charlotte Amalie though. Definitely sounds a bit cooler than the summer! I am bringing a 0.5mm wetsuit top for swimming in case I find it chilly as I've found some others reporting the same thing. This will be my first time to St. John in the winter. I'm hoping my US -northeast upbringing will allow me to still think the air/water feel warm!

Thanks

Oh trust me the air and water will definately feel warm. We were swimming in the ocean yesterday and it didn't feel cold at all. The air temp yesterday was 83 degrees and last night it was 74, so anything is better than the northeast winters! Enjoy your trip

According to the Weather Channel, STX saw a few nights at 64F in January. That's a record low.

Hopefully it warms up before February 18th!

Yesterday the water temp. was 70-72 degrees at Emerald Beach/Lindbergh Bay.
It was sunny with a strong breeze. The soft sand was hot when you walked on it with your bare feet. Nice day at the beach all around.

Ha WHAT 70-72!? Did you have a thermometer or is that the way it felt? That's like the atlantic up in the northeast in the summer!

somarosa wrote:
Ha WHAT 70-72!? Did you have a thermometer or is that the way it felt? That's like the atlantic up in the northeast in the summer!

Actually, I did have a waterproof thermometer. I put it in my swimtrunks pocket. And that is what it read.
It was 110 degrees in the blazing sun on my lounge chair. That's my report. It was still a great day at the beach!!!
Enjoy your vacation!!!

The water temp on St Croix has been 78-81 the past month--from the surface to 110 ft down.

@SeaBreeze19, that sounds really cold! Hoping the thermometer was incorrectly calibrated!

@stxem008, St. Croix should have roughly the same temps as St. John and St. Thomas, right? I thought it's only 20 miles south of them.

Thanks!

Yes, the water temps should be similar. I highly doubt the temperature was actually 70-72. That is the temperature of Florida water right now, but they've been having cold fronts dipping into the 30s and 40s which explains a lot. Trust me, if the water were 70, getting in it in just swim trunks would not be a pleasant experience.

@ somorosa

The thermometer I had was just a keychain thermometer I bought before Mountaintop burned down. So, it isn't a calibrated therometer. I hear one can use a calibrated meat thermometer. I will try to get my hands on one and try it out next time I'm at the beach.
It is 35 miles between Stt & Stx (estimated).

This link provides weater and marine forcasts, including water temps.

http://www.wunderground.com/US/VI/Saint_Thomas.html

@stxem008

It was not a pleasant experience going in the water with my swim trunks. My companion also thought the water was alittle chilly. It did feel more like the low to mid 70's than high 70's to low 80's. That is just our observations.

Have you been in the water lately, stxem008?

Anyway, what difference does it make what the temperature of the water is. Once your in, your body gets used to it. It's vacation time and the weather is great. Sunny, hot, with a nice breeze. Nothing can beat that when you're coming down from the cold north.

Have fun and enjoy your vacation!!!!

St. Croix resident here - we've had trade winds lately, which have made for cooler evenings - but they have passed, and the water is still warm and pleasant (no idea of the temperature though, sorry). My kiteboarding friends are loving life right now. 🙂

Edited to make a correction.

@ SeaBreeze19--I live on St Croix. I am also a marine biologist and am in the water down here almost everyday. Thus, when I say I highly doubt the water was 70 degrees, I highly doubt it. But maybe I could stand corrected with proper scientific evidence.

Regardless, enjoy YOUR vacation!

Hi I did some searching around because I was interested in the water temperature in STT because we are leaving for the island on Feb 6th. I found this NOAA website which graphs the water and air temps on an 8 hr interval throughout the day. Also has tides and winds if you are interested.

http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/data_menu.shtml?stn=9751639%20Charlotte%20Amalie,%20VI&type=Meteorological+Observations

My only other question is what about rain? The forecast shows showers everyday. Is that true? Or does in rain only in the evening?

Rain, when it happens like most tropical islands, is generally sporadic and short-lived - right now on St. Croix more in the morning, but it can happen anytime throughout the day. It's usually 5 - 10 minutes at a time...sometimes a bit longer. That's why it's a chance of rain - but it isn't hours at a time. It's a great time to get in the water while you're waiting for it to pass, or go have a cocktail or a fruit drink. 🙂

And it isn't uncommon for it to be raining and sunny at the same time!

We have found this year (after 7 years coming here the same time each year) has had the most rain. Most of the rain has been happening in the over night and it's been lasting anywhere from a few seconds to about an hour. Each morning we've gotten up, got settled on deck with coffee and then there are more showers, lasting less than a minute! During the day we've seen an occasional shower however these too only last a few seconds. It seems like it's always raining somewhere on the island during the day but it's so quick. After years of travel here I can honestly say we've never had a day of rain. It rains ever day, it lasts seconds but it doesn't ruin the day. I think this year the islands looks greenest and the flowers are so vibrant in color. The rain does the island good and it doesn't spoil the vacation.

Today was another gorgeous day. I think it was somewhere around low 80's. Swam in the pool, hit the ocean waters and enjoyed this beautiful slice of heaven.