An Active Florida Hurricane Season Adds to Red Tide
Scientists believe that Florida's very active 2004 hurricane season may have played an important part in the development of extensive red tide conditions that affected its coastal areas in 2005. The four hurricanes that crossed the Sunshine State in 2004 dumped as much as 27 inches of rain in central Florida, which increased ground water levels and rates of surface runoff, two factors thought to create conditions ripe for the bloom of a red tide.
The four hurricanes that crossed the Sunshine State in 2004 dumped as much as 27 inches of rain - nearly double the historical values - in central Florida, which increased ground water levels and rates of surface runoff. These two factors are thought to create conditions ripe for the bloom of a red tide.