| SW Florida Real-Time Beach Condition Reports |
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| January 22, 2008 |
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If you'd like to have a heads-up on current beach conditions before you pack up the family in the car and drive out to the islands, you can now find current southwest Florida beach conditions on the web.
The Beach Conditions Report was created in 2006 by Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, manager of Mote's Environmental Health Program, working with Solutions To Avoid Red Tide (START), the Florida Department of Health and Sarasota County. Initially, the program was tested in Sarasota County, but now covers beaches from Pinellas County's Honeymoon Island, all the way south to Marco Island. Conspicuously absent from the program are the beaches on Sanibel and Captiva Island. Let's hope that they too will join in and participate in this excellent public service program.
Beach condition observations are made by lifeguards and beach park personnel, who enter the information into handheld wireless computers that update the website in real time. Beach reports are updated daily at 10am and 3pm.
Various city and county governments and visitor's bureaus are supporting this program.
What information does the daily report contain?
- Date and time of latest report
- Water color / clarity
- Wind direction
- Surf Conditions
- Dead fish (fish kills are usually caused by red tide)
- Respiratory irritation (also caused by the presence of red tide)
- Red Drift algae (seaweed can at times be heavy in isolated areas on certain beaches)
- Red Drift location (reports where, exactly, the seaweed is washing up)
Now, if they'll just add a measurement of the current water temperature I'll be thrilled!
This is a tremendous step forward in helping everyone get the most enjoyment out of our wonderful beaches. Tell everyone you know about the beach report website.
The web site for the beach reports is: http://coolgate.mote.org/beachconditions/
You can also just go to the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium website www.mote.org and click on "environmental updates," then click on "beach conditions report."
See you at the beach! |
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| Southwest Florida real-time beach condition reports are now on the web! |
| Credit: Screen capture from beach report website. |
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