DAYTONA BEACH - The ocean on Florida's east coast is cooler than normal this summer.
Experts say it's because of an upwelling, when winds and currents bring cold deep water closer to the surface and the shore. It's a common occurrence, but this upwelling - intensified by sustained winds that have pushed water to the northeast, stripping away warm surface water - has pushed the temperature in the Atlantic Ocean into the upper 60s and low 70s over the past 10 days.
That's 10 to 15 degrees colder than normal for this time of year.
Forecasters said it got this cold at this time only twice before in the past decade, in 1994 and 1996.
The cold water has some swimmers staying on shore and may be responsible for fish kills, algae blooms and a lack of thunderstorms along the coast.
