Swimming at Rockaway Beach today
Queens, New York
Updated 4:00 AM EDT
What decides a swimming score
Before you swim
Swim near a staffed lifeguard tower, and check the National Weather Service surf-zone forecast for the official rip-current outlook — we report conditions, we don't forecast rip currents.
Rockaway Beach is also scored for
About Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach sits on the New York coast, where the water runs from about 40°F in February to 74°F in July.
The water averages above 70°F in July, August and September — 3 months of the year — peaking around 74°F in July and dropping to about 40°F in February.
Today it is 65°F. That is 1° above the October average of 64°F here.
Tide predictions come from NOAA station Beach Channel (bridge) about 0.6 km away on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rockaway Beach good for swimming today?
Swimmable, with care — we score it 69 out of 100 today. The limiting factor is water temperature at 65°F.
What makes a good swimming day?
We weight water temperature (40%), surf calmness (25%), uv exposure (15%) and combine them into one score. Conditions we cannot read are left out rather than guessed.
When is the best time of year to swim at Rockaway Beach?
The water averages above 70°F in July, August and September — 3 months of the year — peaking around 74°F in July and dropping to about 40°F in February.