Pool season · Virginia
Portsmouth Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 15, 2026 · dates · water temp
This is the one-page view of Portsmouth'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.
The bar compresses Portsmouth's whole pool year into one lane rope: gray floats for the off-season, hollow teal for the March 31–April 21 opening window, solid teal for swim weeks, hollow amber for the closing stretch that ends October 28. Wherever the today marker sits, the nearest color change is your next appointment.
The Portsmouth pool calendar
Opening — target April 7
Open by April 7 — a two-week head start on the April 21 crossing keeps startup chemistry small and beats the local service rush.
Closing — deadline October 28
Hold the cover until October 18, then winterize by October 28, a week ahead of the November 16 freeze normal. Late and cold beats early and warm.
Estimated water temperature by month
This is Portsmouth's typical-year water curve: the same EWMA model as the live widget, run on the 1991–2020 normals instead of this week's weather.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42° | 41° | 46° | 55° | 64° | 71° | 78° | 79° | 75° | 67° | 56° | 47° |
Warmest water typically July–August (peaking near 79°F); heaters and covers shift any month up.
Email me when Portsmouth hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Norfolk S (7.1 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.