http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/show/?file=../regions/bigbight/sst/noaa/2003/img/030520.140.1719.n16.jpg

http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/show/?file=../regions/bigbight/sst_comp/noaa/2004/img/040524.145.comp.lnt.jpg

First link is 5/20/2003, second link is 5/24/2004. I tried to find the clearest pictures availables with the closest dates to 1 year apart. Anyway is it just me or does the ocean temp seem to be quite a bit warmer this year? Compare the same areas on both charts, note they are not at the same scale unortunately. If you use the lon/lat you can see that at 40/70 the temp was about 62 in 2003 and is now about 66. In general the 2004 grid seems to be much warmer across the board.

Last year was supposed to have been a very good year for off-shore species (tuna, billfish, mahi, etc.) south of Cape Cod primarily because the gulf stream came in closer than normal. I for one was fishing in 82 degree water in August about 15 miles south of Block Island. Could the upcoming season be even better in terms of warmer gulf stream waters in close to shore? I'm sure the weather over the next couple of months will hold the key but right now I'm thinking that things are looking pretty good.

Anyone that fishes this area and is tuned into these types of factors care to comment?

I did not do a lot offshore last season but I can say that inshore the water is a bit warmer this year then last . Last year, April, May and June were cold with lots of overcast and rainy skys. I know June was a wash out and "summer" didn't hit till the 4th of July.

The water temp in the harbor now is 64 deg already...yes it is in the harbor but we had a string of clear days with strong UV that I think helped to heat the shallow waters a lot.

That said there if you look at the WHOI data from years past you see a trend like this for the end of april
4/27/02 T = 10.0
4/27/03 T= 7.0
4/27/04 T=7.8 Deg C

for May 24:

5/24/02 T= 12.8
5/24/03 T=10.8
5/24/04 sensor dead




So IMO, this is is a little warmer then last year but still a lot cooler then normal. I wish the 04 data was available...:confused:

Offshore is more of a global effect...offshore currents ect. Inshore...is sunshine driven IMO.