Beach conditions report may be sent to your e-mail

A daily report on conditions at 22 beaches along the Florida Gulf Coast is available to the public on-line or by e-mail, and is being used by the national weather service agencies to improve service.

Mote Marine Laboratory's Beach Conditions Report provides real-time information about conditions, such as if and where red drift algae is present, the presence of dead fish, respiratory irritation among beachgoers, the water color, wind direction and what flags are lying at the at lifeguard-monitored beaches.

Go to mote.org/beaches and click on the Beach Conditions Report™ link to register for e-mail updates about beaches located in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties.

The updates are sent at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and the information is date and time stamped, so the user knows how recently a report was made.

Reports are provided by specially trained observers, including lifeguards, parks personnel and other beach monitors, who upload their information directly to the web via a special software interface designed by Mote Marine Laboratory.

In addition to the daily e-mails, you can also log onto mote.org/beaches for web updates and - those who are away from their computers - may also call 941-BEACHES.

Reports are provided for the following beaches in Lee and Collier counties:

Bowditch Point Park, Lynn Hall Beach Park, Lovers Key State Park, Bonita Beach, Tarpon Bay Beach; Barefoot Beach, Vanderbilt Beach, Seagate Beach, Lowdermilk Park, Naples Pier, Tigertail Beach, and South Marco Beach.

The Beach Conditions Report is also shared with the National Weather Service, to refine its rip current forecast for beaches in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and past the line of breaking waves and can occur at any beach with breaking waves.

While rip currents are typically rare along the Gulf Coast, Sarasota lifeguards rescued more than 80 beachgoers from rip currents over Memorial Day weekend and Manatee lifeguards rescued at least another 20.

"What we're finding - thanks to the Beach Conditions Report - is that rip currents are happening with lighter winds and lower wave heights," said Michael Cantin, the Lead Forecaster At NWS. "The Report is really allowing us to ground-truth our forecast in a way never before possible."

A daily rip current outlook included in the Surf Zone Forecast is issued by many National Weather Service offices, at ripcurrents. noaa.gov/forecasts.shtml.

A three-tiered structure of low, moderate, high is used to describe the rip current risk. This outlook is communicated to lifeguards, emergency management, media and the general public.

In addition, information used in the Beach Conditions Report is also shared with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which formulates a harmful algae bloom forecast. The Beach Conditions Report is helping enhance NOAA's forecast ability.

The Beach Conditions Report was created in 2006 by Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, manager of Mote Marine Laboratory's Environmental Health Program, in response to numerous requests for such information from the public.

Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit marine research organization. It is dedicated to advancing the science of the sea through the study of marine and estuarine ecosystems, through the public Mote Aquarium and through an education division that provides unique programs for all ages.