{"id":256810,"date":"2023-05-10T21:26:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T19:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=256810"},"modified":"2023-05-10T21:27:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T19:27:33","slug":"sea-turtles-florida-lore-and-hurricane-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=256810","title":{"rendered":"Sea Turtles, Florida Lore, and Hurricane Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is a about hypothesis based on folklore and its potential plausibility. It is not presented as a scientific study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turtle nesting season has begun in Florida. A bartender, \u201cA\u201d, at my local watering hole is a big turtle enthusiast. So I let \u201cA\u201d know that on my recent walks along the beach, I\u2019ve been seeing lots of new roped-off nests popping up as the nesting season begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA\u201d asked me how far away the nests were located from the water. This is something I hadn\u2019t considered and hadn\u2019t really taken note of. She explained that many locals believe that if a hurricane season is going to be intense the turtles would place their nests up the beach, farther away from the surf than normal. So, a nesting season where turtles lay their eggs close to the high tide line is a prediction for a calm season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In subsequent walks I paid attention to where the nests are located on the beach. As luck would so have it, this month we had a big flood of seaweed at the same time the King tide occurred. This clearly marked the high tide level making it easy to spot. It turns out that every turtle nest I\u2019ve seen this season are located just above the King tide line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sea Turtle Nest on Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida, May 2023, by Charles Rotter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Florida folklore this will be calm storm season. The incubation period for sea turtles is 30 to 90 days. A prediction three months out, and subsequent change in nesting behavior would have a tremendous evolutionary advantage on breeding success.

Nests placed farther than necessary from the water expose the eggs to dehydration and excess predation, especially on that precarious night the young turtles hatch and make a dash for the water. Sea birds and crabs lie in wait for such events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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