Many popular Pinellas beaches remain unscathed by Red Tide

Regina and Mark Evans pulled up to Treasure Island on Sunday hoping for white sand and clear water. Instead, they got a shoreline filled with dead fish.

When Red Tide hit the Tampa Bay area last weekend, fish died, and so did beach plans.

"As we pulled into town, Red Tide pulled into town. Poor timing," said Regina Evans, who was in town vacationing with her husband from Cincinnati.

Piles of stinky fish have piled up on Pinellas County beaches, ruining a few beach outings. But several of the county’s most popular beaches remain relatively clear, despite the algae bloom creeping along the Gulf Coast.

The weather forecast could have people longing for a beach trip in the coming days.

While the high temperature may top 90, this weekend is shaping up to be less humid than normal, said Tony Hurt, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Ruskin office. Hurricane Florence, which was near the North Carolina and South Carolina border Friday, was suppressing cloud and shower development here, he said.

Kelli Levy, Pinellas’ director of environmental management, said the following beaches were generally free of dead fish as of Friday morning: Clearwater Beach, Sand Key Park, Fred Howard Park, Belleair Beach and Belleair Shore. St. Pete Beach is very good, mostly free of Red Tide’s effects, and Fort De Soto Park is "excellent," Levy said.

"A lot of the beaches had a few dead fish wash in and they were cleaned up. But a lot of them are sandy and normal," Levy said.