Sargassum on Singer Island, Riviera Beach: today's beach report
First bulletin for this beach lands with tomorrow morning’s update.
Singer Island closes the Riviera Beach coastline just north of the Lake Worth Inlet, which separates it from the island of Palm Beach. The beach belongs to the Palm Beach zone that FanGass updates every day. This page brings together the day's sargassum bulletin, a score between 0 and 5 and a coastal map to get your bearings.
A seafront this long does not behave as a single unit: the south of the island and its northern end can show different pictures on the same morning. That is exactly why the report is rebuilt daily, and why the section below goes into the geography of the site.
Singer Island on the sargassum map
What to know about this beach
The island looks due east, fully exposed to the open Atlantic. Sargassum rafts pushed by the trade winds and picked up by the Florida Current reach the shore as soon as the wind settles in the eastern quadrant. No island or peninsula upwind acts as a screen, unlike the leeward coasts of the Caribbean islands.
The defining feature here is the Lake Worth Inlet to the south. Its long jetties cut the alongshore drift: material moving up the coast runs into the structure, and the southern part of the island can load up while the middle of the beach stays clearer. Add the sheer length of the shore, several kilometres in one run, over which an arrival rarely spreads evenly. Choosing your access point can change the day.
Frequently asked questions
Is Singer Island exposed to sargassum?
Yes, like the whole of this coast: the beach faces east onto the open Atlantic with nothing offshore in the way. Episodes follow easterly winds and the northward drift of rafts from the Caribbean.
How do I check before crossing the bridge?
Open the FanGass page for Singer Island on the morning of your visit: a 0 to 5 rating, the map of this coast and a daily update. It saves crossing over for nothing.
Does the Lake Worth Inlet make a difference?
Its jetties interrupt the movement of weed along the coast. The south of the island, right against the structure, can gather what the current brings up while the rest of the shore stays cleaner.
Are all the island's beach accesses alike?
No. The seafront runs several kilometres and an arrival lands in patches. If the southern end is loaded, it is worth driving north along the island before giving up on the day.