Red tide is hitting southern Pinellas County hard. St. Pete Beach crews have removed over 1,500 pounds of dead fish over the past couple of days.
BOTTOM LINE:
➡️ There is a 13 mile wide red tide bloom along & offshore of southern Pinellas County, mainly between Madeira Beach & Fort De Soto.
➡️ This relatively small bloom developed offshore of Sanibel shortly after Hurricane Ian & has been drifting north. The bloom is being fed by nutrient runoff from Hurricane Ian, Lake Okeechobee discharge, & Piney Point releases.
RED TIDE SATELLITE:
➡️ The yellow and orange areas represent karenia brevis (aka red tide) in medium to high levels.
SHORT TERM FORECAST:
➡️ A strong cold front will move into Tampa Bay on Thursday. The front will likely cause the bloom to drift slightly north on Thursday due to northerly & onshore currents. Expect a fair amount of dead fish to wash ashore in central & southern Pinellas County. Respiratory irritation will also be an issue.
➡️ The area between Fort De Soto & Madeira will continue to be impacted by red tide this week. Indian Shores & nearby areas should be on guard for possible impact.
➡️ The tidal ebb & flow will bring a bit of red tide into the southern part of the Tampa Bay estuary. I don't expect red tide to get too bad in the northern Bay.
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