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Red tide irritants may return to beaches as wind shifts onshore

Wednesday’s Respiratory Irritation Forecast

Wednesday, March 29 — Some beaches may experience a MODERATE risk of respiratory irritation from Karenia brevis (red tide) in CHARLOTTE, COLLIER, MANATEE and PINELLAS counties, according to the forecast by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences.

Karenia brevis (red tide) is also present along the coast at concentrations that may cause respiratory irritation with onshore winds in LEE and SARASOTA counties.

Conditions may vary, depending on wind direction and currents. Risk of respiratory irritation is most likely when winds are blowing onshore or alongshore, and less likely when winds are blowing offshore.

Today’s forecast indicates alongshore winds from a northeasterly direction, shifting to an onshore westerly direction in the afternoon.

Water samples collected by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission indicate red tide blooms at moderate to high concentrations off Pinellas and Manatee counties.

The NCCOS forecast map below projects levels of respiratory irritation anticipated over the next 24 hours along Southwest Florida shoreline. The respiratory forecast takes into account expected wind strength and direction.

red tide redtide329 Red tide irritants may return to beaches as wind shifts onshore
Click on map to access details for individual beaches.
Today’s forecast for respiratory irritation at individual beach locations, based on field samples of red tide concentration, wind speed and direction. Red=High; Orange=Medium; Yellow=Low; Blue=Very Low (Source: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, March 29, 2023)

Go to: Interactive map with beach-by-beach detail

Changing wind speed and direction may change this forecast for respiratory irritation. A MODERATE to HIGH risk of respiratory irritation is most likely when winds are blowing onshore or alongshore, and less likely when winds are blowing offshore.

For a detailed forecast at individual beaches, see the interactive version of the above map, which goes into more detail for each beach.


Latest News Reports about Red Tide

FWC sampling of red tide blooms through 3/24

The difference between this map and the map above is that these are actual samples taken from Gulf of Mexico while the above map is a forecast of airborne irritants from red tide that cause respiratory irritation. The below map is updated twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Fridays, while the above map is updated daily.

red tide 03 16 23 2023 combo Red tide irritants may return to beaches as wind shifts onshore

FWC Red Tide Samples Report, 3/24

Friday, March 24 @ 5 pm –Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 79 samples along Florida’s Coast. 

Moderate to high bloom concentrations (greater than 100,000 cells/liter) were present in only five samples: three in Pinellas County and two in Manatee County.

Red tide is potentially harmful to people at 10,000 cells/liter.

  • In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, very low to medium concentrations in Manatee County, background to low concentrations in Sarasota County, background concentrations in Charlotte County, background to low concentrations in Lee County, and background to low concentrations in and offshore of Collier County. For additional information, view the Southwest Coast report and map.
  • In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in Bay, Gulf, and Pasco counties. For additional information, view the Northwest Coast report and map.
  • Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in one sample from Palm Beach County. For additional information, view the East Coast report and map.

Fish kills

Reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received from Southwest Florida over the past week from Pinellas, Sarasota, Lee, and Collier counties. For more details, please visit https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/ and https://visitbeaches.org/.

Respiratory irritation

Over the past week, respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System and/or the Fish Kill Hotline in Southwest Florida in Pinellas, Manatee, and Collier counties. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/ and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org/.

For recent and current information at individual beaches, visit https://visitbeaches.org/ and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org/.

Red tide movement forecast

Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Pinellas County to northern Monroe County predict net northern movement of surface waters in most areas and variable transport of subsurface waters over the next 3.5 days.


Read the full FWC Red Tide report online

More from Florida Rambler: Florida Blue-Green Algae updates

More Red Tide news coverage…

Editor’s Note: When you follow our links to newspaper reports, access to some may be limited without a subscription. Subscriptions are not required required for TV news reports and Yahoo! News.


Avoid Red Tide

Toxins from red tide can cause breathing problems and irritate your eyes, nose and throat. Reactions to red tide are worse for people with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis or any chronic lung disease. If you have health issues, stay away from areas with red tide. Pets can become sick from red tide so keep them away from those areas as well as contaminated marine animals and fish.

If you come into contact with red tide, wash off with soap and water. You can get relief from respiratory symptoms by being in an air-conditioned space. For people without asthma or chronic respiratory problems, over-the-counter antihistamines can help. If your symptoms don’t get better, see a doctor.

SWIMMING.  Don’t swim in or around red tide because the toxin can cause skin irritation, rashes and burning and sore eyes.

DEAD FISH. Red tides can kill fish and other marine life—avoid contact and don’t swim or walk in these areas. Keep your pets away from these areas.

RED TIDE AND FISH.  Don’t harvest or eat distressed or dead fish (or any animals) from or near a red tide. Fish caught live and healthy can be eaten if filleted and rinsed thoroughly with fresh water.

RED TIDE AND SHELLFISH. Crabs, lobsters, shrimp, clams, oysters and scallops are filter feeders that can concentrate toxins. These and other shellfish, if harvested from red tide areas, can be contaminated with brevetoxins. The muscle of the scallop is free of toxin but the rest of the scallop is not.

WHAT IS RED TIDE? Common name for harmful algal blooms occurring along coastal regions in Florida from large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms, specifically an organism called karenia brevis. Bloom events are stimulated by nutrients from terrestrial runoff containing fertilizer, sewage and livestock wastes.


Additional Resources


Notes from the editor:

The information in this article was accurate when published but may change without notice. Confirm details when planning visits.

This page may include affiliate links from which we earn modest commissions if a purchase is made. 

This article is property of FloridaRambler.com, protected by U.S. Copyright Law. Re-publication without written permission is against the law.


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Craig

Wednesday 25th of January 2023

Red Tide is MUCH worse than it's made out to be - it's played down because Billions of dollars are at stake. Fixing it? No way - Mosaic funds Mote. The Gov. has made it clear (Scott and DeSantis) that environmentalism is a "woke" fantasy,.

People are getting very sick. Talk to Doctors. Some are moving away (to the east coast).

This is not just an irritant - it's a poison (duh, dead fish and manatees/dolphins). It is likely shortening human lives - those with other respiratory problems.

It's been studied - but, of course, not by the State. Why would they want to know the truth? You can't dump billions of gallons of sewage and fertilizer into shallow warm water without problems!

Kim Wroblewski

Tuesday 2nd of November 2021

The red tide can bother you at sometimes. But whiat our family does is just go down the beach a couple miles and you really can’t notice it at all. Sometimes it’ll bother you worse than others. But don’t give up hope our Florida weather is beautiful and so are the beaches so just enjoy it the best you can and except the red tide Kim Wroblewski

Susan

Saturday 14th of August 2021

Thank you for publishing information about red tide. This has been going on for several weeks not just this last week. I live near the beach in Sarasota county. I feel so bad for tourists who come down with no idea that this is going on. It is not publicized or reported much. The signs alerting people are very inconspicuous. Many lodging properties and hotels do not tell their guests. We’ve also had closures due to bacteria in the water. It is bad enough that our state government is not proactive in solving this problem for all of us, but at least tell people what’s going on for safety reasons. Florida rambler is awesome. Thank you for all your publications! Susan

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