We'll know soon if Hurricane Michael killed red tide

On Siesta Key Beach over the weekend things began looking normal again. The water was clear, some people were swimming, boats were out, the main pavilion was busier than it has been for a while and there were no dead fish along the shore.

On Saturday there were no traces of the foul odor associated with red tide anywhere on the beach. The low humidity and lack of red tide made it one of the more pleasant days since last spring.

Read more: Complete coverage of red tide in Southwest Florida

As the wind blew in from the west on Sunday morning there were some brief spells of bad air, but they were momentary and by the afternoon they were no longer detectable anywhere along the 3-mile stretch of the main beach.

Also missing on the beach over the weekend were people coughing, complaining, or covering their mouths.

Is this a sign that Hurricane Michael — which churned through the Gulf of Mexico last week before making landfall in the Panhandle — broke up the red tide organism known as Karenia brevis?

The answer remains the same: It is too early to tell.

Stephannie Kettle, a spokesperson for Mote Marine Laboratories in Sarasota, said that Mote is taking water samples this week, will analyze them and submit the findings to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which will post them on Wednesday.

Mote takes samples at the beginning of each week. Last week’s samples were taken before the hurricane went past the area. What the samples reveal this week post-hurricane could be the start of a positive trend that red tide is finally dissipating for good after plaguing the area for nearly a year. Time will tell.

Scientists and researchers seem divided on whether or not hurricanes are the perfect tonic needed to rid Florida’s waters of red tide.

In 2004 the state was hit with a remarkable four hurricanes – Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Those hurricanes dumped a total of 27 inches of rain on Central Florida and the large amount of precipitation resulted in increased pollution runoff into rivers and the Gulf of Mexico, ideal conditions to spark a spread of red tide, which was confirmed by NASA scientists.

It was one of the worst outbreaks of red tide in state history, so bad that it created a “dead zone’’ from New Port Richey to Sarasota, essentially meaning there was a zone of no oxygen and sea life in the Gulf.

Hurricane Katrina – one of the most powerful storms on record - went up the Gulf on its way to New Orleans in August of 2005, broke up the “dead zone and pushed the red tide toward the Panhandle.

Last year Hurricane Irma made its way up the state of Florida dumping significant rain and researches again believe the storm may have contributed to favorable red tide conditions.

Mote Marine’s latest beach condition report on Monday morning found no red tide drift or any dead fish on Siesta Key or Coquina Beach in Manatee County, while Lido Beach, Nokomis Beach, Venice Beach the Venice North Jetty had some red tide drift.

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