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.
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
- Red tide reported along Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Bradenton Herald, 3/27/2023
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.
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…
- Florida red tide: American Lung Association provides tips on protecting yourself from respiratory issues, FOX13, 3/17/2023 (Subscription-free)
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.
Additional Resources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Florida Department of Health
- Protecting Florida Together
- Florida Poison Control Information Center
Bob Rountree is a retired journalist, beach bum, angler and camper who has explored Florida for decades. No adventure is complete without finding a scenic paddle trail or unpaved road to nowhere. Bob co-founded FloridaRambler.com with fellow journalist Bonnie Gross 11 years ago.
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