June grass update for Walton County  10/16/13:PM

7-10 on the June Grass Grossness Index

The. June Grass. Will. NOT. Leave!

I attempted to go swimming this afternoon. Unfortunately by the time I got to the beach the wind had switched to the South and there were small waves. What is left of the June Grass is rolling up to shore and is the color of old over-boiled green beans/strained pear baby food. It is ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! It doesn’t seem to smell at least and it isn’t the same kind of slimy as the summer blooms but now it’s decomposing and is still SLIMY AND DISGUSTING! I waded out int to waist deep water to see if I could get out of the cloud. No such luck. Eww eww eww! I saw one small pompano. The June Grass remains are mostly piling up on the bottom, so instead of wading back to shore I swam/body surfed over the nasty mess. The water is still a nice temperature. I only recommend swimming when the wind is coming from the North, which is usually in the morning. The water will be warmer than the air but that won’t last for too much longer.

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!

June grass update for Walton County  8/29/13:AM

0-10+ on the June Grass Grossness Index

The June Grass seems to be piled up in certain areas and completely absent in others. If the wind stays calm and/or continues to come from onshore then the conditions should stay that way. If you can find a clear spot you should be good. If the surf picks up or the wind starts coming from offshore it’s going to be a mess! Have a look at the Seagrove Beach Sky Cam if you want to see what I mean. Walton County flags are still green/yellow but they haven’t been updated yet today, so check them again before you head out.

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 green, 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!

June grass update for Walton County  8/28/13:AM

0 on the June Grass Grossness Index

The June Grass has been really snotty for the last week or so, and I’ve been busy with other things, so I haven’t actually been down to the beach. However somebody who was at the beach this morning was nice enough to let me know that the water was clear. Additionally we are having a rare green flag day! Green flags aren’t usually flown in Walton county. If you visit a state park today a yellow flag is probably flying. I’ve been lead to believe that the park service, on the Panhandle at least, never flies a green flag for liability reasons. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the lovely water lasts through the long weekend!

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 green, 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!

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!

June grass update for Destin  8/3/13:AM

0 on the June Grass Grossness Index 

I went out to the jetties this morning to dive on the high tide and was pleasantly surprised to find clear, although tannic, water! The only grass I saw was some torn up sea grass. There were a lot of fish. There were also 8 “cattle boats” of SCUBAs, snorkelers, SNUBAs but it really wasn’t crowded. There are life guards down there now!

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!

June grass update for Walton County  8/2/13:PM

3 on the June Grass Grossness Index 

I had a look around at the beach. I didn’t stick my feet in since there are bacterial advisories at 3 nearby beaches. The water looks pretty gross close to shore then appears to clear up further out, as people have been telling me all week.

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!

June grass update for Walton County  7/29/13:AM

0-1on the June Grass Grossness Index 

The torrential downpours and constant lightning strikes subsided, temporarily, long enough to climb down from my ark and row my dingy across the yard and down the road to have a look at the beach this morning. I saw literally 2 small clumps of June Grass, and they weren’t even in the water, they were up on the sand.

The water is a shade similar to green milk glass in the Gulf. The Bay and East Pass look like dishwater. Yuck. The Gulf looked swimmable but if you’re near a dune lake outfall, as pictured below, (Walton County only) I don’t recommend swimming in the out-flowing lake water or letting your kids play in it. It’s probably ok but better safe than sorry. Just walk down the beach until you can’t see the brown tannic water anymore.

There were a few early surf fishermen out and I saw some good-sized fish jumping offshore, so it may be a better fishing day than swimming, if you’re like me and prefer clear water. I also saw some big fish jumping in East Pass Saturday night.

I’ve noticed lately that certain public beaches aren’t always flying the most current beach flag so be sure to check online before you go.

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 be 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!

Campbell Lake outflow. This is the first time I’ve seen Campbell Lake break out after living here for over seven years.

More Campbell Lake outflow…

June grass update for Walton County  7/24/13:AM

Stay OUT of the water! 

Sorry for the lack of current reports. I’ve been on vacation and didn’t want to post that information online while I was away.

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 red, 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 be 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!