PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The summer heat has been driving up temperatures here in south Florida, and many of you are turning to the beach to cool off.
WATCH BELOW: 'I mean it's gross, you don't want to step on it,' Lee Scarola says
Our team at WPTV over the weekend noticed there were large amounts of seaweed, known as sargassum, on the sand and in the water, and it appears it may not be over.
We sent WPTV's Joel Lopez to travel through Palm Beach County to see how many beaches are being impacted, listening to concerns from beachgoers.
At Juno Beach, seashell collector Lee Scarola is having to sort through piles of sargassum that are covering up her treasures.
"I mean it's gross you don't want to step on it, sometimes there's little crabs in the seaweed," said Scarola. "You have to really keep your eyes pealed for what might be in the seaweed. It's annoying but sometimes you find some really good stuff stuck in the seaweed."
The beach had a consistent pile of sargassum stretching north and south of the pier.
At Lantana Beach, signs around the parking lot read, "Please Excuse The Seaweed While Mother Nature Rebuilds Our Beaches."
The sign entering the beach where lifeguards warn about ocean conditions also had seaweed listed.
"The seaweed is gross, we were hoping it wasn't going to be bad this year cause last year was beautiful. I think three years ago is when it was rough too," said Alice Wucher, who was sitting behind a pile of sargassum in Lantana Beach.
She's referring to the year 2018 when Florita coasts saw record amount of seaweed washing on shore, potentially harming marine life.
Delray Beach
Seaweed piles up on Delray Beach
We saw about 50% of the sand at Lantana Beach covered in the algae.
"It's definitely annoying when you're trying to have a nice beach day," said Elijah Griffin visiting home from college at the University of Florida.
He was at Boca Raton beach which also was impacted by the sargassum.
"It's close to the worst I've seen, I don't think I've seen it this high this full in my whole life," said Griffin. "When it's washed up it's not pleasant view you know and having to walk through it isn't the greatest. We see it in the water too for sure."
WPTV took beachgoer concerns to Dr. Chuanmin Hu.
He's the Professor of Oceanography at the University of South Florida.
"The total amount out in the Atlantic Ocean the Caribbean sea is crazy, it's a new record," said Hu.
He said this has been a record summer for sargassum and said last month experts measured upwards of 34-million metric tons floating off the Florida coast, May had approximately 37-million metric tons.
So what impact will the large sargassum mass have on South Florida and when we can expect it?
Hu said it's difficult to predict but thanks to ocean currents, the amount of sargassum expected to wash on shore will be low to mild this summer.
"It's okay it's a natural process, it's not toxic by any means unless you have a huge amount of seaweed and you pile up meters, two meters high, then it decays, it smells. That is very bad, it's toxic," said Hu. "It's mild this year, so don't panic, just enjoy the beach."
He said current amounts of sargassum found in Palm Beach County are low enough to not be toxic.
Sargassum season starts in April with the peak in June and July, according to Hu.
He said beachgoers can expect the sargassum to start clearing out in September.
