Perdido Key Beach Flag Today
Pulling today’s flags and water temp. The lifeguard’s flag always wins the argument.
How the beach looks right now
A live camera looking out over Perdido Key and the Gulf.
Our own live Perdido Key beach cam, streaming the Gulf 24/7. Not loading, or dark? open it on YouTube ↗ — it may just be nighttime on the coast.
Jellyfish watch
No purple flag right now — but it's jellyfish season
Late summer into fall is peak season for jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war on the Gulf. None flagged today, but keep an eye on the tide line.
Jellyfish & stings — what to do →Get a notification the moment the flag changes — and a heads-up when it's a postcard beach day. Straight to your phone. No app store, no email, no spam.
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The next few days
Live forecast from the National Weather Service — Mobile/Pensacola office. Curious about past days? The daily archive →
Orange Beach flags today
Orange Beach flies its own flag, and it is not the Perdido Key flag. The live Alabama flag is in the card above, straight from Orange Beach beach safety — the lifeguard program locals call Molly's Patrol. They make the call on that morning's conditions, on that stretch of sand.
Which is why the flag ten minutes west can be completely different from the one here. Yellow in Orange Beach and red at Perdido Key on the same afternoon is genuinely common. If you're crossing the state line, re-check — don't assume.
The double red rule is different on the Alabama side
This is the one thing worth knowing if you're beach-hopping between states. On both sides of the line, double red means the water is closed and going in can get you cited: Escambia County (Perdido Key, Pensacola Beach) prohibits it by ordinance but rarely writes tickets, while Orange Beach and the Alabama beach towns actively enforce it — going in the water while double red is flying can carry a fine.
People find this out the hard way every summer, usually on the first pretty-looking day after a storm, when the Gulf looks inviting and the rip currents underneath it are anything but. If double red is flying, the beach is still yours — the water isn't. Check the current penalty with the City of Orange Beach; the simpler version is to stay out.
Rip currents are the actual reason for the rule. If you're ever caught in one, don't fight it straight back to shore — swim parallel to the beach until you're out of the pull, then angle in.
How to read the flags
- Green: low hazard. Calm conditions. Still don't be stupid.
- Yellow: medium hazard. Moderate surf, light currents. Watch the kids.
- Red: high hazard. Strong currents or surf. Strong swimmers only, knee-deep at most.
- Double red: water closed. Stay out. Illegal to enter on both sides of the line; Alabama actively fines for it — see Orange Beach flags today.
- Purple: dangerous marine life — jellyfish, Portuguese man-of-war, occasionally other things. Check before you swim.
Looking for the Johnson Beach flag? The Gulf Islands National Seashore end of Perdido Key flies the same flag system as the rest of the Key — there's no separate Johnson Beach report — and so does Perdido Key State Park. If the flag at the entrance disagrees with this page, the flag wins. Headed to Pensacola Beach instead? Pensacola Beach flags today.
Flags fly independently on each side of the line. Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, and Orange Beach lifeguards make their own calls based on local conditions. The signs at the beach access are the official source — this page is a convenience layer.
Just here for the Alabama side? Orange Beach flags today →