Gulf coastal communities face increasing exposure to compound hazards, including heat stress. To provide regional context for understanding coastal thermal environments, Landsat 8 and 9 surface temperature (ST) observations (2013–2024) and ground station air and water temperature records were analyzed for a region spanning from the western extent of Lake Pontchartrain to the Florida Panhandle, extending inland and offshore from the immediate coastline. All Landsat scenes were filtered for zero cloud cover prior to download from USGS Earth Explorer, ensuring consistent thermal sampling over the study period. Landsat ST provides 100 m spatial resolution observations at ~10:30 a.m. local solar time every 8 days, offering a reproducible baseline for detecting regional hot spots. While this sampling frequency and spatial resolution do not resolve heat signatures of smaller objects, they highlight zones of elevated thermal stress that may signal ecosystem and infrastructure vulnerabilities. Regression analysis linking station observations with Landsat ST reveals consistently precise relationships that could be extended with appropriate validation toward estimating afternoon conditions, when peak heat stress occurs. Results demonstrate how Landsat thermal radiometry reveals spatial thermal patterns that contribute to ecological and human vulnerabilities and provides a framework to guide resilience planning across the Gulf Coast.