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Took my kids to the coast last weekend and the water was way warmer than usual.
We went to a beach near Santa Cruz. The water felt like a bath, not the cold Pacific I remember. A park ranger said the sea surface temp there is about 5 degrees above normal for May. Saw way fewer seabirds than usual too. It just felt off. Made me wonder what local groups are tracking this stuff. Anyone know a good site for real-time coastal data in California?
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mary7681mo agoMost Upvoted
That part about fewer seabirds really got me. It's not just the water temp, the whole food web might be shifting. Warmer water holds less oxygen and can kill off the small stuff that birds and fish eat. For real-time data, I check the NOAA tides and currents site (they have a buoy near Monterey that shows temp). It's scary how fast things are changing.
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