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Sanibel weather

A raw day around Sanibel — a good day for the rainy-day list.

  • 81°FRight now
  • 89° / 74°Today
  • 7:25 PMSunset
A beach cruiser bicycle leaning against a white picket fence at the head of a sandy beach access pathUnsplash

Conditions on Sanibel

Light drizzle

81°

Light drizzle · feels like 89°

TodayHigh 89° · Low 74°

Humidity86%
Wind9 mph E
Rain11%

Sunrise 7:16 AMSunset 7:25 PM

A raw day around Sanibel — a good day for the rainy-day list.

Updated

Best time to go outside today

Early morning, 8 AM – 2 PM

A raw day around Sanibel — a good day for the rainy-day list.

Outdoor comfort88 out of 100 · Excellent

Sweet spot around 8 AM at 75°F.

Keep an indoor option in reserve — the rest of the day is unsettled.

Updated

Hour by hour

The bar is our outdoor-comfort score for that hour: temperature, rain, wind, UV and humidity together.

  1. 74°
    5%5 AM
  2. 74°
    6%6 AM
  3. 74°
    9%7 AM
  4. 75°
    6%8 AM
  5. 76°
    5%9 AM
  6. 79°
    13%10 AM
  7. 81°
    17%11 AM
  8. 84°
    12%12 PM
  9. 87°
    9%1 PM
  10. 87°
    10%2 PM
  11. 88°
    10%3 PM
  12. 89°
    10%4 PM
  13. 85°
    11%5 PM
  14. 79°
    15%6 PM
  15. 76°
    19%7 PM
  16. 77°
    20%8 PM
  17. 77°
    23%9 PM
  18. 76°
    24%10 PM

Dimmed hours are after dark.

Updated

The week ahead

  1. Light showers

    89° / 74°

  2. Light drizzle

    86° / 75°

  3. Thunderstorms

    87° / 76°

  4. Light drizzle

    89° / 74°

  5. Light drizzle

    88° / 73°

  6. Overcast

    88° / 71°

  7. Light drizzle

    90° / 70°

Updated

Sunrise and sunset

Sunrise
7:16 AM
Sunset
7:25 PM
Daylight
12 hr 9 min
Golden hour
from 6:25 PM

Times are local (America/New York). Golden hour is the hour before sunset, when the light comes off the water at an angle and the photographs start working.

On the water

Water88°F
WavesGlassy — 0.6 ft
Swell period4.3s

  • BoatingGood

    Seas around 0.6 ft, wind 11 mph. Comfortable on a larger boat, a little bouncy on a skiff.

  • SwimmingExcellent

    Water at 88°F with 0.6 ft of surf — warm, and calm enough for children.

  • FishingExcellent

    Seas 0.6 ft, wind 11 mph on a 4s swell — offshore is on the table.

Updated

Plan around it

What to do with the weather you have got

The forecast is only useful if it changes the plan. These are the Sanibel pages that match each kind of day.

When it is wet

Indoor and under-cover plans that do not depend on the sky clearing.

When the water is behaving

On the water and in it — the things a calm, warm day is actually for.

When it is dry and mild

Land-based outdoor plans for the days the forecast gives you.

The longer view

Sanibel's climate, season by season

Today's forecast tells you what to wear. This tells you when to come.

Sanibel runs its warmest in summer (June – August), averaging 91°F by day and 74°F overnight. Winter (December – February) is the other end of it: highs around 74°F, lows near 54°F. That is a 37-degree spread between the hottest afternoon and the coldest night of a typical year, which is why the same packing list does not work twice here. Visitor numbers track it closely — winter is full, fall is quiet — so the cheapest weather is rarely the most comfortable weather.

  • Winter

    December – February

    74°F / 54°F

    fullcrowds
    fullprices
    • The best shelling of the year: cold fronts from the west, low spring tides, and beaches worked before sunrise
    • Migratory wading birds, ducks and raptors at their densest on Wildlife Drive
    • Dry, mild and low-humidity: the months the island was built to be visited in

  • Spring

    March – May

    84°F / 63°F

    busycrowds
    busyprices
    • March is the island's busiest month, so book bikes, boats and tables well ahead
    • Late April and May bring warm water, long evenings and a noticeably emptier beach
    • The best cycling conditions of the year on the shared-use path

  • Summer

    June – August

    91°F / 74°F

    steadycrowds
    quietprices
    • Gulf water in the mid-eighties, the warmest swimming of the year
    • Lowest rates of the year on rentals, resorts and bikes
    • Peak loggerhead nesting, marked nests on the sand, and hatchlings emerging late in the season

  • Fall

    September – November

    86°F / 67°F

    quietcrowds
    quietprices
    • The quietest beaches, paths and refuge mornings of the year
    • September and October carry genuine named-storm risk on this coast, so insure properly
    • Turtle nesting closes 31 October and the beachfront lighting rules lift with it

Book around it

Rainy Days suit conditions like today's

Departures cancel for weather, not for forecasts. Check the operator's own cancellation terms before you book on a marginal day.

All rainy days

Some links below go to Viator, our booking partner. We earn a commission on bookings made through them — at no extra cost to you, and with no influence on what we recommend.

Shared departures

Per-seat pricing, fixed departure times, and other people on the boat. For one or two of you this is almost always the right call.

Private and small-group

Priced for the boat rather than the seat, and often the cheaper answer for four or more once you divide it out. Worth checking against the shared price above before you assume private means expensive.

Last updated

Conditions checked (America/New York). This page refreshes every half hour. Forecast data from Open-Meteo.