Blog Archives
Clear at THPSP
No June grass here! Hopefully it will stay that way for the weekend.
Also beginning May 22, 2015 regular day-use admission fees will be waived for public entrance to Topsail Hill State Park through a reimbursement program administered by Visit South Walton (VSW). The program will be in effect May 22, 2015 until September 7, 2015 with VSW reimbursing the state park up to $25,000 for entrance fees during this time for visitors and residents. So you get free parking and tram service!
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park’s tram service shall operate service each day 9:00 a.m. until sunset at least twice per hour to provide transportation to the beach access from the public parking lot. This program is to increase beach access parking availability along 30A, increase awareness of outdoor recreation opportunities, and increase visitation to the park.
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is located at 7525 W. Scenic Highway 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459. For more information, call (850) 267-8330
Another Red Flag Day
The Rip Current Advisory is still in effect and it looks a bit dark and potentially stormy over towards Destin.
Tallahassee, FL
Sun, May 17, 4:24 am CDT
… HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK… WHICH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING.
* TIMING… GREATEST THREAT THIS MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON… WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN THE THREAT LATE THIS AFTERNOON.
* SURF… ..2 TO 4 FEET… SUBSIDING TO AROUND 2 FEET LATE.
* IMPACTS… STRONGER AND MORE FREQUENT RIP CURRENTS ARE LIKELY TODAY… WHICH COULD BE HAZARDOUS TO THOSE ENTERING THE WATER.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.
RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY FROM SHORE… WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS… JETTIES AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS… BEACH PATROL FLAGS AND SIGNS.
IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT… YELL FOR HELP. REMAIN CALM… DO NOT EXHAUST YOURSELF AND STAY AFLOAT WHILE WAITING FOR HELP. IF YOU HAVE TO SWIM OUT OF A RIP CURRENT… SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE AND BACK TOWARD THE BEACH WHEN POSSIBLE. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT AS YOU WILL TIRE QUICKLY.
Red flag day on the Panhandle.
There is no June grass report today because of the red flags and ongoing rip current warning. I have been to the beach and the waves are big. Do not go in the water, it isn’t safe!
Still Clear
THPSP and Sandestin are still at a 0 on the June Grass Grossness Index.
The wind is coming from the southwest and the water is still a bit choppy for swimming. The water also seems a bit warmer to me today.
There are a ton of black-bellied plover around. They are beautiful birds but very skittish. There are also a lot of other shorebirds like terns, gulls, willet, and sanderlings if bird watching is your thing.
I also noted a large number of black unicorn horn – shaped snails in shallow water, which is new for me. I will try to figure out what species. The beach and the Gulf are full of surprises.
June Grass Arrives Early!
I’m sorry for the lack of updates, I have been meaning to share some nice off-season beach pics but life is busy at the moment. In fact I am trying to run out the door to work right now! However, I just got a second-hand report that some fishermen at TSHPSP say the June Grass is in and thick enough that they can’t fish! Ugh!
I will try to get down there after work and confirm but if anybody has any pics please send them to me so I can post them ASAP!
The last two weeks on the Emerald Coast have been stormy, so I suspect a lot of “fertilizer” ended up in the Gulf, plus the majority of the wind has been coming from a mostly westerly direction, which is where the June Grass usually comes from.
What a way to begin the season!
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!
The June Grass Report 