RUSKIN (970 WFLA) -- It's been an unusual summer for red tide along the southwest Florida coast... as an algae bloom has hung on for weeks.
Tony Hurt with the National Weather Service (Tampa Bay office) says people going to the beach from Sarasota to Naples should be ready for possible irritation, including people coughing, sneezing and tearing up.
This bloom has caused big problems for sea turtles. Hurt says the number of stranded sea turtles from Sarasota to Collier Counties over the past six months is 287. That's more than double the five year average. No sign of an end in sight for the red tide of 2018.
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