Expert: Elsa did not wash away red tide in Tampa Bay, could have made it worse

Parts of St. Petersburg are seeing some of the highest concentrations of red tide. More than 110 tons of dead sea life have been picked up so far there.

ST. PETERSBURG — Many people in the Tampa Bay area were hoping Hurricane Elsa would help churn up the pockets of red tide and push the dead fish and algae blooms offshore.

Now, almost one week later it appears the storm was no help at all.

"It certainly doesn’t seem like, as we had all had our fingers crossed, that Tropical Storm Elsa helped the red tide situation, it certainly didn’t flush it out of Tampa Bay," said Dr. Lisa Krimsky, a Regional Water Resources Extension Agent with the University of Florida IFAS Extension.

Although Krimsky says we don't have official confirmation of what the exact impact was from Elsa, she suspects it might have gotten worse in some areas.

"It’s possible in certain areas, it did make it worse but recognizing that it’s very patchy within Tampa Bay," added Krimsky who underscored the tendency red tide has to be concentrated in one area and nonexistent not too far away.