GALVESTON, Texas – Several beachgoers have reported that the water is particularly clear at Galveston beaches after the holiday weekend.
According to the city of Galveston, the clear water is due to the current changing from east to west.
"Whether it's true or not may be a trending debate on social media, but those of us who call this Island home know that these last few days have been incredible," the city posted on Facebook.
We asked KPRC2 Chief Meteorologist Frank Billingsley to investigate. He reached out to Melissa Huffman with the National Weather Service. She said Derek Giardino with the West Gulf River Forecast Center said Alberto might have had some influence on the Galveston water being clear because the storm shifted course and a large "plume" of water was pushed toward the Gulf Coast.
Giardino added that the Galveston area did not have a typical outgoing tide on Monday that normally dumps sediment from the Houston Ship Channel into Galveston Bay and then the Gulf of Mexico. That possibly allowed for more blue, or clearer, water to hit the beach.
Galveston beach goers treated to relatively blue water. Ocean currents coming from the southwest pushes river sediments up the coast and turbidity of the water improves. Unfortunately the brown water will return when the currents switch. pic.twitter.com/Isyz1DOz5i
— NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) May 31, 2018
Unfortunately, he said the currents returned to normal Wednesday and the sediment from the ship channel has already resumed pouring into the Gulf.
What do you think? Let us know on the KPRC2 Facebook page.
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Clear water at Galveston beachesLIVE: Sky2 is over Galveston where clear water is the talk of the island. Full story: http://bit.ly/2J1IO8u
Posted by KPRC2 / Click2Houston on Wednesday, May 30, 2018