Red tide could linger on Florida’s Atlantic, Gulf coasts

MIAMI – Red tide is expected to linger along Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts at moderate levels at least through early next week.

Most South Florida beaches were open Friday with warnings posted about the toxic algae.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a forecast Friday that beachgoers might experience mild symptoms such as sneezing, coughing and watery eyes in the Miami area and in parts of Florida’s Panhandle and Tampa Bay regions.

Outbreaks happen almost annually on Florida’s Gulf coast, but it’s rare for them to spread to the Atlantic side of the state. The Sun Sentinel report s hundreds of dead fish washed ashore Thursday in Fort Lauderdale.

The red tide began off southwest Florida last fall. It’s blamed for the deaths of many fish and other marine life.