A lot of people were hoping that a tropical system in the Gulf might just wash away the red tide that's been plaguing this side of Florida for months.
But Mote Marine Laboratory scientist Dr. Vincent Lovko said it's not that simple.
"A significant weather system could kind of mix the water up and help disperse the bloom," Lovko said. "That's also one of the ways that blooms can be fueled as well, because the mixing of the water column brings some of those nutrients from the bottom into the water column."
Lovko said the offshore winds lately have lessened the effects of the red tide along the beaches. But he said a satellite image from this past weekend still indicates a "significant and intense bloom" from along the Central Florida Gulf Coast south toward the Keys. So there's reason to expect this bloom might stick around.
