Florida
A Whole Lot of Manatees Just Came Together at This Park
When Florida’s waters cool down in the winter, its resident manatees huddle together for warmth—this year, in record numbers. On Jan. 21, Volusia County’s Blue Spring State Park, which NPR dubs “one of the largest winter gathering sites for manatees” in the Sunshine State, witnessed a total of 932 of the marine creatures congregated, breaking the previous record of 736 just set on New Year’s Day, per the Friends of Blue Spring State Park. The nonprofit Save the Manatee Club notes that Jan. 21 was one of the season’s coldest mornings yet, with temperatures in the park’s St. Johns River hovering just above 58 degrees.
Manatees prefer waters that are at least 68 degrees, on account of their sluggish metabolism and thin layer of fat. Blue Spring’s waters are a comfy 72 degrees, which is why it’s become a literal hot spot for the sea cows. WFLA notes that the creatures typically seek out warmer natural springs around Florida, and even waters around electrical power plants—Tampa Electric, for example, actually hosts a manatee viewing center.
Monica Ross, a manatee expert at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, tells NPR that Florida’s recent spate of back-to-back cold fronts has contributed to the higher-than-usual number of manatees showing up in the state park outside of Orange City. She notes that ample food in warm springs is another factor, as algae blooms elsewhere are stunting the growth of the seagrass that manatees devour.
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Pollution, habitat loss, and run-ins with boats are other threats they regularly face. Citing figures from the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NPR notes “an unusually high number” of manatee deaths on Florida’s east coast, with more than 1,000 perishing in 2021, mostly due to starvation. Estimates from the FWCC put the total number of manatees in Florida somewhere between 8,350 and 11,700, as of 2022. “The fact that [manatees] are choosing to be at Blue [Spring] shows how important of a site it is and what a manatee is really looking for, for survival,” Ross says. (Read more uplifting news stories.)
Gulf system to bring downpours to Florida
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber is continuing to watch an area in the Gulf that is expected to bring much-needed rain to Florida this weekend. He said the system will likely drift to the north and northwest and will linger before heading to the northeast. He said to get a tropical depression, or a tropical storm there needs to be winds and a closed low and he is not seeing that in the models yet. Weber is also tracking a system off the coast of Africa that has a 10% chance of developing over the next week. He says it will likely enter a hostile environment and dissipate.
TAMPA, Fla. – Forecasters are tracking a broad disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast that could bring much-needed rain to parched communities this weekend.
Gulf tropical development potential
What we know:
Models continue to indicate there is a potential for an area of low pressure to form over the northeast Gulf off the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says an area in the Gulf has a 30% chance of tropical development over the next seven days.
Models a shifting away from the forecast of the system moving over the state and off the coast of the Carolinas. Models are now indicating a more likely scenario that it lingers in the Gulf over the weekend and may drift more to the northwest near the Florida Panhandle or Louisiana coast. Early next week conditions look like they will become less conducive and may prohibit much development. Regardless of whether it organizes, the system will bring tropical downpours and increased moisture across Florida and parts of the Southeast.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber states we are close to 7.50″ below average on our rainfall in Tampa for the year. A weak area of low pressure or tropical system can be beneficial in helping to make up for the rainfall deficit we have been experiencing. Drought conditions continue over much of the state of Florida. If this system ends up drifting more westward, it would limit the total amount of rainfall and the highest totals would be along the immediate west coast.
Atlantic tropical development potential
A tropical wave southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands remains disorganized.
It is moving west-northwest and, according to the NHC, there is a chance for slow development over the next day or two. By the weekend it is expected to move into less conducive conditions and Saharan dust will begin to affect this wave, limiting its moisture. The time for this system to develop is very limited and will not develop after the weekend.
The NHC is giving it a 10% chance of developing.
Weather factors and storm names
What we don’t know:
Officials cannot yet confirm if the disturbance will overcome environmental hurdles like land interaction, wind shear and dry air. Computer models remain uncertain on how much this system will develop over the waters of the Gulf. If it stays over the warm waters of the Gulf longer, it may give it additional time to organize. Interactions with land and wind shear will likely pose obstacles in further development.
To become a tropical system, it must develop a defined circulation with organized thunderstorms. If it reaches maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, it will become a tropical storm and be named Bertha.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13Meteorologist Jim Weber, the National Hurricane Center tropical weather outlooks, as well as forecast computer models.
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – If you felt shaking along Florida’s east coast on Thursday, you’re not alone. But it wasn’t an earthquake.
A strong “experimental explosion” was reported in the waters off Central Florida on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS website indicates that the explosion happened around 3:04 p.m., roughly 91 miles east-northeast of Ponce Inlet.
Per the agency, the event registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. However, few other details about what may have caused the explosion have been provided at this time.
“The recorded ground motions from this event are more typical of an explosion than a naturally occurring earthquake,” the USGS website reads. “The Navy has conducted Full Ship Shock Trials in this region in the past.”
[A LOOK BACK: U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford performs shock trials on an aircraft carrier in 2021]
News 6 has reached out to Navy officials for more information and is awaiting additional details.
Anyone who felt the impact of the explosion is urged to report their experience here.
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