June Grass Update 6/16/12

June grass update for Walton County 6/16/12:AM

5-8 on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

The wind is coming from the northeast and the waves are coming from the southeast (don’t ask me how that works). The June Grass is pretty concentrated in some areas and not as much in others.

The water is warm and it’s nice and sunny. It might be a good day for a little surfing or boogie boarding, but probably not SUP or kayaking, due to the wind pushing offshore, which can make it easy to capsize and hard to return to the beach. There was quite a lot of fish activity just off the beach including bait balls and larger fish jumping.

At the time this report was made the beach flags were yellow and purple, but check them again before you head to the beach.

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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!

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June Grass Update 6/13/12

June grass update for Walton County 6/13/12:AM

on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

Well it looks like the storms brought the June Grass in.

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Speaking of storms: here is the high tide line for the surge from last weekend’s storms. Please don’t disregard the beach safety flags.

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Finally: a deer enjoying the bounty of the dunes.

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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!

Extreme Beach Caution

Today the Double Red beach flags were downgraded to red and purple. However, over the past three days there have been many swimmers in need of rescue, so please use extreme caution and consider just enjoying sand-only beach activities if you are visiting the beaches today. In my opinion children and adolescents who are not strong swimmers should not go in the water at all on a red flag and teens and adults should really think before going in. I personally don’t do more than stick my feet in on a red flag.

The Beach is That Way

Since it is going to rain all weekend: here is an interesting article on why South Walton County(including the resorts, which are not towns, of Seaside, Watercolor, and Sandestin, and the unicorporated towns of Santa Rosa Beach and Miramar Beach) are NOT Destin, which is a city located in adjacent Okaloosa County.

Beach Safety

Please exercise extreme caution if you visit the beach this weekend. Flags have been red for most of the week. There have been two drownings of young people in Walton County this week.

June Grass Update 6/2/12

June grass update for Walton County 6/2/12:AM

on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

We’re back from another beach snorkel. Despite the surf forecast there are actually some pretty decent swells down there, so grab your boogie board, surf board, or SUP but mind the wind that could push you offshore. The June Grass isn’t at all bad and is still mostly on the bottom out in the surf, the swells have the vis down though, so not the best weekend for snorkelers and divers. The water is nice at about 79F. We saw two small pods of dolphins, a small flounder, and a lot of baitfish. If you are diving be sure you have your diver down flag (as required by state law), since we saw a fishing boat come VERY close to the beach. There is still a bit of sargassum around but no sea lice or jellies that I saw this morning. That may change when the wind shifts this afternoon. Have fun at 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.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. When you are stuck in traffic on the way to the beach and you’re feeling hot and frustrated, your kids are whining, and the drinks in your cooler are getting warm, and you are thinking about laying on your horn or making an obscene gesture STOP and think about the soldiers who DIED so that you can LIVE in a FREE country with plenty of food, resources, infrastructure, opportunities, choices, and rights that not everybody in this world is lucky enough to have.

June Grass Update for 5/27/12

June grass update for Walton County May 27, PM:

on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

My husband and I went snorkeling at the beach around 5pm. The water visibility was decent and we swam out about 50 yards from the beach into about ten feet of water. I noticed a few dribs and drabs of June Grass along the bottom but none really in the water column. We saw a small southern stingray, a huge school of ladyfish, a couple of jellies, and a lot of gelatinous egg cases in the water. Close to the beach there was a distinctly cooler, somewhat murky, current of water but further out there was a very warm, clear current. This was where the eggs were and I ran into some sea lice, but nothing major, just annoying little stings. The water is probably 78-80F depending on which beach you’re at.

Please be SAFE, SMART, and CONSIDERATE this Memorial Day weekend at 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.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

June Grass Update for 5/26/12

June grass update for Walton County May 26, PM:

on the June Grass Grossness Index. 

This is technically a guest post. The UV Index is at 11, so I opted to stay indoors while my husband went for a  swim. He says there is no June Grass, most of the sargassum is gone, there are a few fish around, not many boats, and the water is nice.

Please be SAFE, SMART, and CONSIDERATE this Memorial Day weekend at 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.

PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!

Still none

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Also a lot of surf fishing going on.