June Grass Update for Walton County 8/11/13:AM
June grass update for Walton County 8/11/13:AM
5 on the June Grass Grossness Index
It’s a very pretty day to be at the beach even if the water isn’t so pretty. The June Grass looks more spinach than broccoli right now, so hopefully that means it’s dying and will go away soon. I think it’s doing the clumping thing, so if you walk a few hundred yards up or down the beach you may be able to avoid it somewhat. The beach water quality reports are good for both Walton and Okaloosa county, except Clement Taylor Park, which is bayside in Destin. When I drove across the pass earlier this week both the pass and Crab Island had finally gone back to blue water instead of brown. However, when I was driving east on 98 on Okaloosa Island I could smell the rotting June Grass from the road. Yuck.
While it’s not ideal swimming conditions right now, there are some biggish boogie board waves coming in over the first two sandbars (there are three right now: 2 close to the beach and the usual “2nd sandbar” out further). These waves aren’t quite big enough for regular surfing but might be an interesting challenge for more advanced SUP. There are also a lot of shorebirds around for the birdwatchers to enjoy. I didn’t see any surf fishers out yet today. As kids go back to school tourist season seems to be winding down. I’ve been quite pleased with the pleasantness of visitors we’ve had on the beaches this year: nobody was so annoying that I left the beach (which has happened often in years past).
In the future there will not be June Grass Reports on red flag days because I don’t encourage anybody to go in the water on a red flag.
At the time this report was made the beach flags were yellow, but check them again before you head to the beach. In Walton County you can text “beachflag” to 67463*
I would love it if you would share your personal June Grass and beach condition reports on the Most Recent June Grass Sightings & Beach Conditions page, to further improve the June Grass Report. It would also e great if you left a comment to tell me where you’re traveling from to visit the beach!
If there isn’t a current June Grass report up on this site I suggest checking the link to local beach cams on the left side of this page. They can often give you an idea of what the water is like. It is also important to “Know Before You Go” and check local beach flags. They are updated twice daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm.
PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!
Posted on August 11, 2013, in Beach Activities, Beach Conditions, June Grass, Weather and tagged 30-A, beach, beach flags, beach update, beaches of south walton, big sand holes, bird watching, boogie board, bull sharks, Caribbean Sea, Choctawhatchee Bay, cladophora algae, clement taylor park destin, coffeen preserve, crab island, destin, dive skins, dune lakes, Emerald Coast, fishing, fishing etiquette, fl panhandle, florida panhandle, free diving, frigate birds, ghost crabs, gulf islands national seashore, Gulf of Mexico, jellies, june grass forecast, june grass update, kayaking, larvaceans, longshore current, marine, metal detecting, northwest florida, ocean, okaloosa island, olive shells, paddle boarding, red flags, rip tide, salt water, san destin, sand, sandestin, sandestin florida, santa rosa beach florida, sargassum, scenic highway 30-A, SCUBA, SCUBA diving, sea, sea kayaking, sea lice, shells, shore bird nesting, shore birds, skin diving, snorkeling, south walton florida, sowal, sport fish, stallworth, stand up paddle boarding, stingray, SUP, surf, surf fishing, surfing, swellinfo.com, swimming, terns, Topsail Hill State Park, Topsail Hill State Park Preserve, trash, underwater photography, underwater videography, uv protective swimwear, visibility, walton county florida, waves, wind. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
The June Grass Report 
Reblogged this on Emerald Coast Mom and commented:
Nice to have reports on the beaches.
Hopefully the June Grass finishes dying off soon enough as our family will be making our annual Destin pilgrimage one month from today. Seems that the only time we ever ran into June Grass was the one year we went the third week of August, otherwise our trips in September and October have been grass free. Keep up the reports; they keep us daydreaming about our impending trip.