Hurricane Michael Pushes Red Tide Back To Pinellas Beaches

It's been about a month since red tide first made its way to Pinellas County, but not much has been seen in the last few weeks. That was until Hurricane Michael passed through earlier this week and pushed the algae bloom closer to shore.

The bloom never went away, strong winds just pushed it offshore. Now, after the storm, Pinellas County beaches started reporting fish kills, strong odors and respiratory issues again.

Kelli Levy, the county’s director of environmental management, said they were prepared for the storm to make the red tide worse.

"We thought the higher likelihood was that Hurricane Michael was going to have an adverse impact with regard to red tide on our shores," she said.