Best Time to Dive in the Puget Sound
The wildlife shows no season worth planning around, so it comes down to the weather: go November to March. The full season runs October to March.
- Best time
- Nov–Mar
- Water
- 8–14 °C
- Visibility
- 0–15 m
- Season runs
- Oct–Mar
- Dived from
- shore diving
- Species logged
- 6
Worth knowing: water around 11 °C.
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in the Puget Sound — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Good | Good |
| Water temp (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Visibility (m) | 5–15 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 0–10 | 0–10 | 0–10 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 0–10 |
| Marine life | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Puget Sound diving season
April · Shoulder season
1 month- Water temperature
- 9–9 °C
- Visibility
- 5–15 m
- Rain
- 13 days a month
Diving conditionsRain is frequent topside.
Marine lifeCalifornia sea lion (near-guaranteed) peaks at Puget Sound in these months.
May to September · Off season
5 months- Water temperature
- 11–14 °C
- Visibility
- under 10 m
- Rain
- 7 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind eases. It rains less.
Marine lifeCalifornia sea lion (near-guaranteed) peaks at Puget Sound in these months.
October to March · Peak season
6 months- Water temperature
- 8–12 °C
- Visibility
- 5–15 m
- Rain
- 16 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind is up. It rains more.
Marine lifeCalifornia sea lion (near-guaranteed) peaks at Puget Sound in these months.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Puget Sound water temperature and weather
7,569 underwater observation records · 26 surveyed years of ocean data · 10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Puget Sound water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
Seas top 1.0 m on under 1% of days. Enough to cancel a shore entry
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
3 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.3 m | 3% | 17 | 6 | 8 °C | 8.6 h |
| February | 0.5 m | 4% | 15 | 3 | 8 °C | 10.0 h |
| March | 0.4 m | 1% | 16 | 3 | 11 °C | 11.6 h |
| April | 0.4 m | 1% | 13 | 2 | 14 °C | 13.4 h |
| May | 0.3 m | 0% | 10 | 1 | 18 °C | 14.9 h |
| June | 0.3 m | 0% | 9 | 1 | 21 °C | 15.8 h |
| July | 0.2 m | 0% | 4 | 0 | 24 °C | 15.4 h |
| August | 0.3 m | 0% | 5 | 1 | 25 °C | 14.1 h |
| September | 0.2 m | 0% | 8 | 2 | 21 °C | 12.3 h |
| October | 0.4 m | 3% | 14 | 4 | 15 °C | 10.6 h |
| November | 0.5 m | 4% | 17 | 6 | 11 °C | 9.0 h |
| December | 0.5 m | 6% | 19 | 6 | 8 °C | 8.2 h |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 4.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Moderate | February week 1: Excellent | March week 1: Good | April week 1: Poor | May week 1: Poor | June week 1: Poor | July week 1: Poor | August week 1: Poor | September week 1: Moderate | October week 1: Excellent | November week 1: Good | December week 1: Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Good | February week 2: Excellent | March week 2: Excellent | April week 2: Poor | May week 2: Poor | June week 2: Poor | July week 2: Poor | August week 2: Poor | September week 2: Moderate | October week 2: Excellent | November week 2: Good | December week 2: Good |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Excellent | February week 3: Excellent | March week 3: Excellent | April week 3: Good | May week 3: Poor | June week 3: Poor | July week 3: Poor | August week 3: Poor | September week 3: Poor | October week 3: Moderate | November week 3: Good | December week 3: Moderate |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Good | February week 4: Good | March week 4: Excellent | April week 4: Good | May week 4: Poor | June week 4: Moderate | July week 4: Poor | August week 4: Poor | September week 4: Poor | October week 4: Moderate | November week 4: Good | December week 4: Moderate |
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 9 °C | 0.5 m | 20 km/h | 63% |
| Week 2 | Good | 9 °C | 0.4 m | 18 km/h | 61% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 8 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 54% |
| Week 4 | Good | 8 °C | 0.3 m | 20 km/h | 53% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 8 °C | 0.4 m | 19 km/h | 48% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 8 °C | 0.4 m | 19 km/h | 46% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 8 °C | 0.5 m | 19 km/h | 50% |
| Week 4 | Good | 8 °C | 0.6 m | 22 km/h | 56% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 8 °C | 0.5 m | 21 km/h | 55% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 8 °C | 0.4 m | 20 km/h | 48% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 8 °C | 0.4 m | 20 km/h | 50% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 9 °C | 0.4 m | 20 km/h | 52% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 9 °C | 0.4 m | 21 km/h | 50% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 9 °C | 0.5 m | 22 km/h | 48% |
| Week 3 | Good | 9 °C | 0.4 m | 21 km/h | 41% |
| Week 4 | Good | 10 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 36% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 10 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 30% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 11 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 32% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 11 °C | 0.4 m | 18 km/h | 34% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 11 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 31% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 12 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 33% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 12 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 38% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 12 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 31% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 12 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 20% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 18 km/h | 17% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 18 km/h | 13% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 19 km/h | 11% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 19 km/h | 9% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 19 km/h | 12% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 14 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 14% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 14 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 14% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 19 km/h | 16% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 18 km/h | 14% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 18 km/h | 23% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.2 m | 17 km/h | 33% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 13 °C | 0.3 m | 19 km/h | 35% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 12 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 36% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 12 °C | 0.3 m | 18 km/h | 42% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 12 °C | 0.5 m | 20 km/h | 53% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 11 °C | 0.5 m | 21 km/h | 56% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 11 °C | 0.5 m | 20 km/h | 53% |
| Week 2 | Good | 11 °C | 0.5 m | 20 km/h | 54% |
| Week 3 | Good | 10 °C | 0.4 m | 20 km/h | 55% |
| Week 4 | Good | 10 °C | 0.4 m | 20 km/h | 56% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 10 °C | 0.4 m | 19 km/h | 56% |
| Week 2 | Good | 10 °C | 0.5 m | 19 km/h | 59% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 9 °C | 0.5 m | 22 km/h | 63% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 9 °C | 0.5 m | 23 km/h | 62% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: dry | February: dry | March: dry | April: dry | May: dry | June: dry | July: dry | August: dry | September: dry | October: dry | November: dry | December: dry |
One suit covers the whole year: a drysuit.
Swell through the year
The rough end of each month — nine days in ten come in under it.
Amber is over 1.0 m.
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Puget Sound marine life — what you'll see diving
| Species | When | Observed window | Reliability | Evidence | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbour seal | All year | Near-guaranteed | 5542 | ||
| Orca | All year | Near-guaranteed | 508 | ||
| California sea lion | All year | Near-guaranteed | 808 | ||
| Humpback whale | All year | Likely | 409 | ||
| Grey whale | Mar–May | Likely | 270 | ||
| Green turtle | Jul | Hit-or-miss | 21 |
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving the Puget Sound — common questions
- When is the best time to dive the Puget Sound?
- The wildlife shows no season worth planning around, so it comes down to the weather: go November to March. The full season runs October to March.
- When is the diving season at the Puget Sound?
- The diving season at the Puget Sound runs October to March, and it is at its best November to March.
- Is the diving at the Puget Sound good for beginners?
- Not really. It is for experienced divers, so it is not a place to learn or to make your first dives after certification.
- How warm is the water at the Puget Sound?
- Between 8 and 14 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in February and warmest in August. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need at the Puget Sound?
- A drysuit covers the coldest water of the year. The same suit works all year.
- What is the visibility like at the Puget Sound?
- Roughly 0 to 15 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- What will I see diving the Puget Sound?
- The most consistently recorded species are Harbour seal (near-guaranteed), Orca (near-guaranteed) and California sea lion (near-guaranteed), from 7,569 records within 60 km.
- Does the Puget Sound get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- When should I avoid the Puget Sound?
- May–August are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive the Puget Sound?
- Mostly from the shore. Trips run through the season, Oct–Mar.