PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – Bay area beaches may experience elevated doses of red tide during the next few days.
What You Need To Know
- Some Bay area beaches may experience red tide for the next few days
- Beaches may experience a moderate to high risk of respiratory irritation from red tide this week in Manatee, Pinellas, Sarasota
- Officials said the conditions may vary
- Track red tide and check the latest beach respiratory conditions
- PREVIOUS STORY: USF professor talks red tide research after blooms spoted in the area
Officials said the conditions may vary.
Red tide also has been present along the coast in concentrations that may cause irritation with onshore winds in Charlotte and Monroe counties.
In the Gulf of Mexico, some harmful algal blooms are caused by the microscopic algae species, commonly called red tide.
The blooms can cause respiratory illness and eye irritation in humans.
It can also kill marine life, and lead to shellfish closures. Blooms are often patchy, so impacts vary by beach and throughout the day.
NCCOS monitors conditions daily and issues regular forecasts for red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast of Florida.