RED TIDE

It is not going to be the best beach weekend if you are planning to enter the water. At the east coast beaches there will be a high rip current threat, especially for the Volusia and Flagler beaches. There will be an elevated threat for rip currents at the Brevard beaches but not as high. Use extreme caution and swim near a lifeguard if planning to swim.

Amid the stench of dead fish, protesters marched along Florida's Tampa Bay to call for state assistance in dealing with a growing outbreak of harmful red tide.

ST. PETERSBURG — People in boats plucked limp fish from among scores of floating dead snook and tarpon covering the waters around the Tierra Verde Bridge. Charter fisherman Terry Russo was near the bridge in his boat “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” that day. He had just been recovering from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, and he and fellow charter fisherman Michael Anderson were angry. ...

Scientists are looking for any links to dreaded algae blooms and the pumping of 215 gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay from the site of an old fertilizer plant two months ago.

The positives and negatives when it comes to Saharan Dust. Saharan dust and red tideThis is the potentially ugly side of Saharan Dust. Some large red tide years have also occurred without any Saharan dust. Dry air and increased wind shear are the main characteristics of the Saharan Air Layer, the official name of the cloud of Saharan dust. Saharan dust is the ultimate catch 22, bringing significant positives and potentially some negatives as it makes its yearly trans-Atlantic journey.

While dust from the Sahara Desert makes a trip across the Atlantic every year, 2020′s dust has been abnormally thick. Because of the dry air and increased wind shear within the area of dust, tropical development becomes less likely in the areas where the dust is present. Hello, (goodbye) DollyIf you blinked, you may have missed Tropical Storm Dolly. NO tropical development is expected. There are several tropical waves coming off of Africa, which is early for that to be happening, but the environment is not conducive for tropical development at this time.