Pool season · Texas
McAllen Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 25, 2026 · dates · water temp
This is the one-page view of McAllen's pool year: both model windows, the estimated water-temperature curve, and today's live position on the season bar. The detailed checklists live on the opening and closing guides; this page is the calendar you check between them.
McAllen, TX — 251 swim days a yearReading it takes ten seconds: 52 dots, one per week. Solid teal is McAllen's swim season; the hollow teal run before it (January 3 to January 24) is when to open; the hollow amber run after is when to close, with December 25 as the deadline; gray is the covered season. Today's marker shows where you stand in that cycle right now.
The McAllen pool calendar
Opening — target January 10
Target January 10; the practical window runs January 3–January 24, and the 7-day mean crosses the 61°F threshold around January 24. Cold-water starts are the cheap ones.
Closing — deadline December 25
The window opens December 19 once water leaves the algae zone; the model deadline is December 25, a week ahead of the January 1 freeze normal.
Estimated water temperature by month
Monthly averages of the site's water model run on McAllen's own normals — the shape of a typical year, not a forecast. The widget above shows where the current year actually sits.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60° | 62° | 68° | 74° | 79° | 84° | 87° | 88° | 86° | 81° | 73° | 64° |
Warmest water typically May–October (peaking near 88°F); heaters and covers shift any month up.
Every station tells its own story: compare this curve with Mansfield's pool season and McKinney's — neighboring normals stations can shift the windows by a week or more. The full ranking lives on the Texas season index.
McAllen pool season FAQ
When should I open my pool in McAllen, TX?
Open by January 10 — the model places McAllen's 61°F crossing about two weeks later, and every warm day you wait pushes the water toward the 65°F algae zone. The McAllen opening guide has the 12-step sequence.
When should I close my pool in McAllen?
Close by December 25: cool water keeps its winter chemistry, but freeze damage is the hard stop. The McAllen closing guide sequences the work backward from that date.
How long is the swim season in McAllen?
McAllen averages 251 days a year with normal highs of 80°F or better — about 57 days earlier than the Texas median. The Texas season index ranks all 68 covered cities by the same metric.
How warm does pool water get in McAllen?
An unheated pool near McAllen typically peaks around 88°F in high summer and bottoms out near 60°F in winter, spending roughly 6 months at or above the 78°F comfort line most swimmers prefer. The month-by-month curve above shows the whole cycle; the methodology page explains the ±5°F error bars.
Email me when McAllen hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Mcallen (2.4 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.