How warm is the ocean in Myrtle Beach in March?

March weather in Myrtle Beach still retains some of the unpredictability of the winter months. Daily highs are usually in the upper 60s, rising to the 70s by the end of the month, and sunny weather is common, though by no means guaranteed.

On warmer days, March can bring beach weather, particularly if you are visiting from a place with a colder climate. Most people will find the ocean temperatures too cold for swimming, but water activities such as kayaking can still be enjoyable on a warmer day. Boat tours and boat rentals are often also available at this time of year.

As the weather can still vary somewhat from one day to the next in March, it is best to pack for a range of conditions. Short sleeves and shorts might be best for the hottest of March days, but there can be many much cooler days when you will want a jacket. Pack layers, especially if you expect to be out in the evenings.

See also:
– Myrtle Beach festivals
– Travel options between Charleston and Myrtle Beach
– Food festivals in the Myrtle Beach area
– Myrtle Beach weather by month: January, February, March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Temperature & Humidity In Myrtle Beach In March

The average daily high temperature in Myrtle Beach in March is 64°F (18°C). The average daily low is 44°F (7°C).

In March, temperatures are still very variable, with considerable variation possible from day to day and from one year to the next.

In cooler years, the daily high temperature can fail to top 60°F (16°C) on more than a third of days, with comparatively few days on which the thermometer gets past 70°F (21°C). In warmer years, the opposite is true, with only a few days in the 50s or lower and almost two thirds of days during March getting into the 70s.

On exceptionally hot March days, the temperature can occasionally approach 90°F (32°C). Variability in temperature between morning and afternoon is not usually too extreme, but it can sometimes cool off quite a bit in the evening.

Humidity

March weather in Myrtle Beach is only occasionally humid.

Water Temperature

Ocean surface temperature in Myrtle Beach in March averages between 56-60°F (12-16°C), which most people will find too cold for swimming.

March Sunshine, Clouds & Rain In Myrtle Beach

Sunshine in Myrtle Beach in March averages 8 hours per day. Rain averages 3.6 inches during the month, with rain falling on an average of 7 days.

March in Myrtle Beach usually enjoys a very good amount of sunshine, although the number of sunny days can vary somewhat from year to year. A typical March sees mostly clear, sunny weather on half or more of days. The weather can often be sunny for several days at a stretch.

Days with some sun but also some cloud occur on another quarter or so of days during the month. Overcast days, on average, account for around a quarter to a third of days during March. It is possible to have several days together of cloudiness, but more usual for cloudy weather to last for only a day or two. Occasional fog is possible.

Hurricane Risk

March falls outside of Myrtle Beach’s hurricane season, which runs from June through November.

Sunrise & Sunset Times In Myrtle Beach In March

Sunrise

In March, the sun rises at 6:43am at the beginning of the month (an hour later after Daylight Saving Time begins) and at 7:04am at the end of the month. It begins to get light in the morning at 5:20am at the start of the month (an hour later after Daylight Saving Time begins), and by 5:39am at the end.

Sunset

The sun sets at 6:12pm at the start of the month (an hour later after Daylight Saving Time begins), and at 7:35pm by its end. It gets completely dark by 7:35pm at the beginning of the month (an hour later after Daylight Saving Time begins), and by 9pm at its end.

Day Length

The amount of full daylight in March averages around 12 hours per day, plus an additional 25-30 minutes of low light at the beginning and end of the day.

Daily high temperatures increase by 4 °C, from 16 °C to 20 °C, rarely falling below 10 °C or exceeding 25 °C.

Daily low temperatures increase by 4 °C, from 7 °C to 11 °C, rarely falling below -0 °C or exceeding 17 °C.

For reference, on July 21, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Myrtle Beach typically range from 24 °C to 31 °C, while on January 29, the coldest day of the year, they range from 4 °C to 13 °C.

Average High and Low Temperature in March in Myrtle Beach

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on March. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in March in Myrtle Beach

frigid -9 °C freezing 0 °C very cold 7 °C cold 13 °C cool 18 °C comfortable 24 °C warm 29 °C hot 35 °C sweltering

The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Çırtıman, Turkey (9,720 kilometres away); Behshahr, Iran (10,778 kilometres); and Miyazaki, Japan (12,073 kilometres) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Myrtle Beach (view comparison).

Compare Myrtle Beach to another city:

The month of March in Myrtle Beach experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 45% throughout the month.

The clearest day of the month is March 23, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 57% of the time.

For reference, on July 27, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 56%, while on October 27, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 66%.

Cloud Cover Categories in March in Myrtle Beach

0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%

The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 1 millimetre of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Myrtle Beach, the chance of a wet day over the course of March is gradually increasing, starting the month at 26% and ending it at 28%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 53% on July 25, and its lowest chance is 21% on October 30.

Probability of Precipitation in March in Myrtle Beach

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during March in Myrtle Beach is gradually decreasing, starting the month at 93 millimetres, when it rarely exceeds 163 millimetres or falls below 44 millimetres, and ending the month at 81 millimetres, when it rarely exceeds 148 millimetres or falls below 30 millimetres.

The highest average 31-day accumulation is 93 millimetres on March 1.

Average Monthly Rainfall in March in Myrtle Beach

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of March in Myrtle Beach, the length of the day is rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 1 hour, 3 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 2 minutes, 6 seconds, and weekly increase of 14 minutes, 40 seconds.

The shortest day of the month is March 1, with 11 hours, 28 minutes of daylight and the longest day is March 31, with 12 hours, 31 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in March in Myrtle Beach

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the month in Myrtle Beach is 6:29 a.m. on March 12 and the latest sunrise is 59 minutes later at 7:28 a.m. on March 13.

The earliest sunset is 6:12 p.m. on March 1 and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 23 minutes later at 7:35 p.m. on March 31.

Daylight saving time (DST) starts at 3:00 a.m. on March 13, 2022, shifting sunrise and sunset to be an hour later.

For reference, on June 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 6:05 a.m. and sets 14 hours, 24 minutes later, at 8:29 p.m., while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:16 a.m. and sets 9 hours, 55 minutes later, at 5:11 p.m..

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in March in Myrtle Beach

The solar day over the course of March. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in March in Myrtle Beach

Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of March 2022. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for March 2022. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in March in Myrtle Beach

The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Myrtle Beach is essentially constant during March, remaining within 1% of 1% throughout.

For reference, on July 22, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 95% of the time, while on January 21, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in March in Myrtle Beach

dry 13 °C comfortable 16 °C humid 18 °C muggy 21 °C oppressive 24 °C miserable

The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 metres above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Myrtle Beach is essentially constant during March, remaining within 0.4 kilometres per hour of 18.6 kilometres per hour throughout.

For reference, on February 26, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 19.2 kilometres per hour, while on August 9, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 13.4 kilometres per hour.

Average Wind Speed in March in Myrtle Beach

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The wind direction in Myrtle Beach during March is predominantly out of the north from March 1 to March 11 and the south from March 11 to March 31.

Wind Direction in March in Myrtle Beach

The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.6 km/h. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Myrtle Beach is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Myrtle Beach is essentially constant during March, remaining around 18 °C throughout.

Average Water Temperature in March in Myrtle Beach

The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 0 °C) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Myrtle Beach typically lasts for 8.7 months (268 days), from around March 8 to around November 30, rarely starting before February 8 or after March 30, and rarely ending before November 10 or after December 25.

During March in Myrtle Beach, the chance that a given day is within the growing season is very rapidly increasing rising from 37% to 91% over the course of the month.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in March in Myrtle Beach

frigid -9 °C freezing 0 °C very cold 7 °C cold 13 °C cool 18 °C comfortable 24 °C warm 29 °C hot 35 °C sweltering

The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 10 °C and a cap of 30 °C.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Myrtle Beach are increasing during March, increasing by 130 °C, from 118 °C to 248 °C, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in March in Myrtle Beach

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of March, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Myrtle Beach is increasing during March, rising by 1.2 kWh, from 4.3 kWh to 5.5 kWh, over the course of the month.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in March in Myrtle Beach

The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Myrtle Beach are 33.689 deg. latitude, -78.887 deg. longitude, and 7 m elevation.

The topography within 3 kilometres of Myrtle Beach is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 11 metres and an average elevation above sea level of 3 metres. Within 16 kilometres is also essentially flat (17 metres). Within 80 kilometres is essentially flat (81 metres).

The area within 3 kilometres of Myrtle Beach is covered by artificial surfaces (57%) and water (41%), within 16 kilometres by water (46%) and artificial surfaces (26%), and within 80 kilometres by water (42%) and trees (31%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Myrtle Beach, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Myrtle Beach.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Myrtle Beach according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Myrtle Beach is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Myrtle Beach and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Myrtle Beach and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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