Hurricane Helene is expected to arrive as a Category 4 storm in Florida on Thursday, bringing tons of heavy wind and rain to the Sunshine State.

There have been plenty of cases where illicit substances washed ashore in Florida. But the question is: who's putting it in the water?

A good Samaritan finds a boatload of cocaine in Florida.

A man was airlifted to a hospital after being bitten by a shark while spearfishing near Key West, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Recreational boaters found $1 million worth of cocaine floating in the ocean off the Florida Keys.

A buoy recently went missing from the Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida and was discovered all the way across the ocean in a small, seaside community in France.

So, we all know that when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, our social media feeds light up like a Christmas tree with images of leprechauns, shamrocks, and pots of gold at the end of rainbows, right? But have you ever stopped to wonder why?

These behemoths can be tracked using OCEARCH’s shark tracker, which catalogs the movement of these sharks as they travel through the water.

Looking to waste away with a cheeseburger in paradise.

While Florida was lucky enough to avoid making the top cut, three of its highways were still on the list of most-loathed highways nationwide.

A man was arrested in the Florida Keys after a traffic stop for a suspected DUI ended in a profanity-laced tirade that included threatening deputies, body camera video from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office shows.

After a gloomy and wet day on Wednesday, you can expect even more of the same going into Thursday.

Florida has officially begun flights to get Israeli evacuees back to the United States.

An Olympic gold medalist and a former college All-American won top honors at an annual 8-mile swim around the Alligator Reef Lighthouse.

Football season is back and it's time to test your knowledge of our local NFL teams.

The record-breaking ocean temperatures have been a big story lately, with sea surface temperatures reaching all-time highs during July and August. And that is very much the case in the water around Florida.

The combination of an intense marine heat wave in the area along with a developing El Niño warmed the ocean, speeding up coral reef bleaching and mortality rates.

An Orlando pilot was rescued after the small plane he was piloting crashed into the lower Florida Keys waters on Sunday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Two Marion County deputies are receiving praise after rescuing a diver while they were on vacation in the Florida Keys.

It looks like the singer Pitbull is going to have to add some digits to his ode to Miami’s area code, “305 Anthem.”.

Even The Ocean Cant’ Escape The Heat

The water around South Florida has been record hot for this time of year, but the high temperatures may have just reached new heights.

Miami's Police director remains in critical condition at the hospital after undergoing surgery on Monday.

How the Loop Current affects tropical systems

The Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are on fire. When it comes to Florida’s coral reefs, it’s not just that the water temperatures are blazing hot, it’s about how early the heat has come.

New York had its hot dog eating contest to celebrate Independence Day.

Partying never gets old in the Florida Keys — especially for a milestone birthday like No. 200.

A Florida researcher who broke the world record for the longest time spent living underwater resurfaced after 100 days.

The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws championed by Gov_ Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”.

Authorities in the Florida Keys say a shark bit the foot of a fisherman who had reeled it in, sending the man to the hospital.

An underwater researcher is on track to break a world record for the longest time spent living in an underwater habitat.

Medics airlifted a man to a Miami-Dade hospital after a shark reportedly bit him as he was spearfishing off the Florida Keys Friday, according to sheriff’s officials.

It took seven people to help get the fish off of the boat.

Much of the Florida Keys lost water pressure after a water main broke.

A Canadian woman and a pediatric cardiologist from Georgia are winners in Key West’s annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest.

An underwater researcher has submerged to begin a 100-day mission in the Florida Keys, attempting to set a record for underwater human habitation at ambient pressure, as well as educating students and conducting medical and marine science research.

The city of Marathon makes its way on the Forbes list for “Best places to travel in 2023”.

The migration has families in anguish in both Cuba and South Florida.

90 Cuban migrants arrive in 24-hour span

A U.S. national park comprising a cluster of islands in the Florida Keys has been closed after 300 migrants made 10 landings there over the weekend.

Three manatees who spent months in the care of specialists at SeaWorld Orlando after being rescued are back home in the Florida Keys.

As Hurricane Ian continues across Florida, video shows heavy wind and rain coming down on the Florida Keys.

A boat captain has been arrested, several months after a woman was killed and her son and nephew were injured in a parasailing accident in the Florida Keys.

The Southernmost Point marker in Key West, Florida, a landmark delineating the continental United States’ southernmost spot of land, became a memorial to Queen Elizabeth II when city workers installed a British flag and royal purple banner at the much-photographed site beside the Atlantic Ocean.

An 11-year-old boy was attacked by a shark in the Florida Keys, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Two people died and five were missing after a boat believed to be carrying migrants capsized off the coast of the Florida Keys.

More migrant landings occurred overnight, into Friday morning in the Florida Keys, authorities confirmed.

13-year-old Fischer Hricko of Oviedo and his family went on vacation to the Florida Keys — where he suffered an unexpected shark bite while lobstering.

A 27-year-old snorkeler died earlier this week after suffering a head injury that was possibly caused from being struck by a boat, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

The family of an Illinois woman who was killed while parasailing in the Florida Keys has filed a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit against the boat company.

Authorities are investigating after a woman died when a parasail struck the old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.

A recently published three-year study out of Florida International University discovered pharmaceuticals present in the blood and tissue of bonefish living off the South Florida coast.

What was once a 47-foot majestic sperm whale was later devoured by hungry sharks off Big Pine Key.

A 19-year-old South Florida woman who fled from law enforcement in the Florida Keys on Thursday told the deputy who caught up to her that getting arrested was on her “bucket list.”.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew rescued nine pepole when their pontoon overturned near off the Florida Keys.

Haitian migrants are reaching Florida’s shores in repeated suspected human smuggling operations, outpacing last year’s migration waves.

Federal officials say a wooden boat carrying hundreds of Haitian migrants in a suspected human smuggling operation ran aground just off Key Largo, Florida.

Just in time for sea turtle mating season in the Florida Keys, a rehabilitated male loggerhead turtle has been released off Pigeon Key.

A 57-year-old Alaskan pediatrician has died while scuba diving off the Florida Keys.

A segment of a 110-year-old Florida Keys bridge has reopened to pedestrians and bicyclists following a $44 million restoration project.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it pulled 176 Haitians from an overloaded wooden sailing vessel as it approached the Florida Keys.

Restoration has been completed on Key West’s Southernmost Point marker, one of the most photographed landmarks in the Florida Keys, following damage from a fire intentionally set early New Year’s Day.

Authorities say a California man has died after he dove off a pontoon boat into shallow waters while trying to catch a football in the Florida Keys.

Police say a 7-foot-python snuck onto a sailboat in the Florida Keys and hitched a ride, staying onboard until the boat completed its nearly 100-mile voyage.

Forecasters say tropical depression Fred is slowly strengthening and could regain tropical storm status on Saturday.

Tropical depression Fred is heading for a drenching of Cuba and the Bahamas on a forecast track that would carry it toward South Florida as a tropical storm by Saturday.

Officials say three people died on the first day of Florida’s annual two-day lobster miniseason.

Tropical Storm Elsa is sweeping over western Cuba with strong rain and winds, and forecasters say it will move on to the Florida Keys on Tuesday and Florida’s central Gulf coast by Wednesday.

Officials say two people are dead and 10 others are missing after their boat overturned near the Florida Keys.

A biological pest control specialist explains the importance of releasing more genetically-modified mosquitoes in Florida.

A whopping 23 bricks of cocaine washed ashore in the Florida Keys, the U.S. Border Patrol confirmed in a tweet Wednesday.

With COVID-19 cases declining and more people getting vaccinated every day, Orange County leaders are starting to express optimism when it comes to the regional outlook on the pandemic.

Sheriff's officials say an 82-year-old man died while snorkeling off Key Largo in the Florida Keys.

Officials say a power outage occurred throughout the lower half of the Florida Keys when a sailboat got stuck in transmission lines.

A snorkeler found 68 pounds of cocaine in the water around the Florida Keys on Wednesday. The snorkeler spotted the drugs floating in the water near Craig Key, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office turned the drugs over to the U.S Border Patrol. The border patrol said the drugs are valued at more than $1.5 million. of cocaine valued at over 1.5 million dollars floating in the #FloridaKeys.

KEY WEST, Fla. – The body of a Texas woman who went missing while scuba diving in the Florida Keys was found Wednesday near the wreck she was exploring, officials said. Divers found Jordan Jay Fisher of Rockport, Texas, on the bottom of the sea floor near the Vandenberg wreckage off of Key West around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. She had gone missing on Tuesday as she was diving with her husband and several other people, Monroe County Sheriff's officials said. Sheriff's officials say foul play is not suspected. The dive master told investigators he made several searches around the wreck until he was short on air.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Publix supermarkets have again expanded the counties where the grocer is offering coronavirus vaccine appointments and with the latest addition now all of Central Florida’s 10 counties have Publix pharmacies with shots. Publix updated its vaccine registration website Tuesday with an update saying beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, eligible residents would be able to make vaccine appointments. By 10 a.m. Wednesday all new appointments were filled at the new Central Florida locations. With the latest expansion, the supermarket based out of Lakeland is now vaccinating people in 41 out of Florida’s 67 counties at 593 Publix pharmacies throughout the state. In addition to Publix pharmacies, Winn-Dixie, Walmart and Sam’s Club stores will also begin offering vaccine appointments in Central Florida soon.

Publix reopened its online portal Wednesday morning for eligible people to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. The available appointments, which will take place later this week, were all booked in Brevard, Volusia, Flagler and Marion counties in less than 90 minutes. [TRENDING: How to get a vaccine in Fla. | Wanted: Man accused of shooting at detective | Cops: Fla. man decapitated hamster]The Publix portal next reopens at 7 a.m. Friday. “We’re happy to announce we’re expanding the program to include eight Publix pharmacies in Indian River County and 11 Publix pharmacies in St. Lucie County,” DeSantis said. To make an appointment when the portal reopens, click here.

KEY WEST, Fla. – A tourist from North Carolina died following a snorkeling trip off the Florida Keys, sheriff’s officials said. Erica Michelle Brown, 42, had been snorkeling with family and friends on a Fury Watersports boat on Sunday afternoon when she began signaling for help, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Someone on the boat began CPR and it was continued when she was transferred to a U.S. Coast Guard boat, which took Brown to shore. Paramedics then took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office did not list a city in North Carolina where Brown lived.

In this drone aerial photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, traffic flows on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway in Islamorada, Fla., towards Key West Monday, June 1, 2020. After being closed to visitors since March 22, 2020, to help curtail the spread of COVID-19, the Florida Keys reopened to tourists Monday. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)KEY WEST, Fla. – Almost 75 pounds of cocaine were found this week floating off the Florida Keys. Drugs floating off the Florida Keys are nothing new, according to the Miami Herald. In October, more than 30 pounds of marijuana washed up in the Keys.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Residents in Brevard County are seeing an impact from Tropical Storm Eta after the storm made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday. Over the weekend, the county was placed under a tropical storm warning and Brevard Public Schools announced all schools and district offices would be closed on Monday. We might have some limbs down, but I don’t think that we’ll see any flooding or have any major damage.”Early Monday, many areas in Brevard County saw sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and tropical-storm force gusts. County officials said the greatest threat from Eta was expected to be flooding rainfall, showers and squalls. “You can’t be crazy and go jump in that water and swim now.”Officials said residents should be prepared for worsening conditions along the coast, which could change depending on the track of Tropical Storm Eta.

A couple walks along the beach during a downpour, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, on Miami Beach, Florida's famed South Beach. A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Elsewhere, forecasters announced that Subtropical Storm Theta, a record-breaking 29th named storm of the 2020 hurricane season, had formed far out in the northeast Atlantic by late Monday night. “Never seen this, never, not this deep,” said Anthony Lyas, who has lived in his now-waterlogged Fort Lauderdale neighborhood since 1996. It was the 28th named storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. Eta was not done yet with Cuba, just 90 miles (140 kilometers) south of Florida, where the storm continued to swell rivers and flood coastal zones. ___Associated Press writers Cody Jackson in Fort Lauderdale, Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, and Haleluya Hadero in Atlanta contributed to this report.

ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 meteorologist Jonathan Kegges spoke with the director of the National Hurrican Center on Sunday about the impacts Florida could see from Tropical Storm Eta. Eta was once a Category 4 hurricane but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued tropical storm warnings for southern Florida and the Florida Keys, and warnings were issued for central Cuba; parts of southern Florida and the Keys were even put under a hurricane watch. [RELATED: TRACK, MODELS, MORE: Here’s how Eta will impact Central Florida]The system was expected to approach the Florida Keys and south Florida late Sunday or Monday. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tropical Storm Eta continues to bring strong wind and rain to Florida. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, Eta is forecast to become a hurricane before it reaches the Florida Keys tonight. During the past few hours, tropical-storm-force winds gusts have been occurring all along the southeast Florida coast. WATCH LIVE RADAR BELOWCounty Impacts from Tropical Storm EtaThe center of Tropical Storm Eta will move toward the Florida Keys through Sunday. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Brevard County, meaning tropical storm conditions are expected.

A strengthening Tropical Storm Eta cut across Cuba on Sunday, and forecasters say it's likely to be a hurricane before hitting the Florida Keys Sunday night or Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami declared hurricane and storm surge warnings for the Keys from Ocean Reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay. Several shelters also opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. On Sunday night, authorities in Lauderhill, Florida, responded to a report of a car that had driven into a canal. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low-lying areas.

Members of search and recovery teams search for survivors in the debris of a massive, rain-fueled landslide in the village of Queja, in Guatemala, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Eta. The storm was expected to hit Cuba by early Sunday, and approach the Florida Keys and south Florida late Sunday or Monday. Tropical storm warnings were issued for central Cuba, southern Florida and the Florida Keys. South Florida started emptying ports and a small number of shelters opened in Miami and the Florida Keys for residents in mobile homes and low lying areas. The storms’ threat comes as many streets across South Florida have been inundated by heavy rains and unusual King Tides.

Location 85 miles SE of Wilmington North Carolina Wind 45 mph Heading ENE at 21 mph Pressure 29.65 Coordinates 76.8W, 33.3NDiscussionAt 400 AM EST (0900 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Eta was located near latitude 33.3 North, longitude 76.8 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the east-northeast near 21 mph (33 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue with an increase in forward speed through Saturday. On the forecast track, Eta is expected to gradually pull away from the southeast U.S. Coast today. Eta could intensify a little as an non-tropical cyclone during the next day or so before it becomes absorbed by a larger non-tropical cyclone on Saturday or Saturday night. Tropics Models at 9:10 Friday Morning, November 13thLand HazardsSURF: Swells generated by Eta will affect portions of the southeastern United States coast today.

MARATHON, Fla. – When a shark attacked her husband during a snorkeling trip in the Florida Keys, his pregnant wife didn’t think twice, jumping out of a boat to pull him to safety, a sheriff’s deputy said. Eddy, of Atlanta, had just slid into the water from a private boat when a large shark, estimated at 10 feet, latched onto his shoulder. Dukes, without hesitation, dove into the water and pulled Eddy to the safety of the boat,” Deputy Christopher Aguanno wrote in his report. Several other snorkelers from other boats were already in the water when the attack happened, the deputy wrote. George Burgess, who retired as director of the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File, agreed that it was likely a bull shark that bit Eddy.

KEY WEST, Fla. – A Florida woman died after snorkeling in the Keys over the weekend, officials said. Kim Ellen Schwinge, 63, of Port Orange, was on a snorkeling trip Sunday morning near Key West, according to a Monroe County Sheriff's Office news release. A family member noticed that Schwinge was having difficulties breathing in the water, officials said. She was taken to a commercial catamaran, where crew members began CPR. She was taken to a nearby U.S. Coast Guard station and then to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A 30-year-old snorkeler from Atlanta was attacked by a 10-foot bull shark in the Florida Keys. Monroe County sheriff’s officials say Andrew Eddy was with his family exploring a reef at Sombrero Key Light on Sunday when he was bitten on the shoulder by the shark. He was then airlifted to a hospital, but his condition is not known. Authorities said boaters in the area had spotted the bull shark earlier. Witnesses said the shark was 8 to 10 feet in length.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Sometime next year, genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in an effort to combat persistent insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever and the Zika virus. The plan approved this week by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District calls for a pilot project in 2021 involving the striped-legged Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is not native to Florida. At a meeting Tuesday of the Florida Keys mosquito control board, several people questioned the wisdom of the project. You have no idea what that will do, Barry Wray, director of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, told the board. Whether or not the modified mosquitoes can efficiently crash the population of these mosquitoes in Florida remains an open question, some experts say.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Sometime next year, genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in an effort to combat persistent insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever and the Zika virus. The plan approved this week by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District calls for a pilot project in 2021 involving the striped-legged Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is not native to Florida. At a meeting Tuesday of the Florida Keys mosquito control board, several people questioned the wisdom of the project. You have no idea what that will do, Barry Wray, director of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, told the board. Whether or not the modified mosquitoes can efficiently crash the population of these mosquitoes in Florida remains an open question, some experts say.

(Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)ISLAMORADA, Fla. Two rehabilitated sea turtles, rescued at different times and locations by the U.S. Coast Guard, have been released off the Florida Keys. Emma, a 150-pound (68-kilogram) female loggerhead sea turtle, was recovered in June after she was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off Islamorada. Bubbles, a 225-pound (100-kilogram) adult female green sea turtle, was found entangled in an abandoned fishing trap line by recreational boaters in mid-June off Long Key. Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Lees described the rescue and Thursday's release of the sea turtles as a rare treat. Its fulfilling to see the final result of a turtle rescue, Lees said.

KEY LARGO, Fla. Four cases of Dengue fever have recently been confirmed in the Florida Keys, bringing the total number of cases reported this year to 26, health officials said. Most of the Dengue fever cases are in a two-mile (3,218-meter) area of Key Largo, the Miami Herald reported. In 2010, 66 cases of locally acquired Dengue fever in Florida were associated with Key West, health officials said. Dengue fever often presents flu-like symptoms with severe muscle aches and pain, fever and a rash. Health officials said this is the same mosquito that carries the Zika virus, which has symptoms similar to Dengue.

A Florida man who loves to spend his free time on the water now has two wild stories to tell, one involving a shark and the other involving a gator, plus he has the scars to prove it. I tied it off and actually lost very little blood, Stuller told the News-Press. He told WINK News that he was once gator hunting with two friends and had the gator roped when the reptile opted for some revenge. As he rolled he kind of clamped on my leg, you know? Stuller told the TV station. I mean, a lot worse things that could happen in those cases in my opinion, Stuller told WINK.

ISLAMORADA, Fla. A Texas man landed in jail when police in the Florida Keys caught him poaching lobsters one day before the start of spiny lobster miniseason. The annual lobster miniseason began Wednesday morning and runs through Thursday night, while the regular 8-month commercial season begins on Aug. 6. The deputy said Rodriguez-Tejeda was snorkeling off a boat with another man while a third man on a personal watercraft was making trips from their spot to land with a bag. The deputy stopped the boat and said Rodriguez-Tejeda dumped lobster tails into the water from his dive bag, the report said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrived and removed the 14 illegal lobster tails from the shallow water where the deputy said he watched Rodriguez-Tejeda toss them.

KEY WEST, Fla. The risk of coronavirus transmission has prompted organizers in the Florida Keys to cancel this year's Fantasy Fest. It grew to generate some $30 million in annual revenues for the Florida Keys island chain. Since there will not be a Fantasy Fest 2020, we are concerned about how the islands workers will be affected, Grossman Orr said. About half of the Florida Keys workforce is employed in tourism-related jobs, Keys tourism officials said. Grossman Orr said that festival officials will work with other community-based organizations to raise donations and disperse them to those most in need in Key West.

KEY LARGO, Fla. An 11th case of the mosquito-borned dengue fever has been confirmed in the Florida Keys, health officials said. So far, all 11 cases have been in Key Largo, including eight cases the last week of June, the Florida Department of Health officials said Tuesday. Officials are currently conducting epidemiological studies to determine the origin and extent of these infections, Florida Keys spokeswoman Alison Kerr told the Miami Herald. One case of dengue fever has been confirmed Miami-Dade County, according to health department spokeswoman Olga Connor. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said helicopters and trucks are targeting the adult mosquitoes and larvae, said Chad Huff.

KEY WEST, Fla. Officials have solved the killing of a teenager in the Florida Keys who was raped and strangled with her bikini top on Valentines Day 1991. Officials used DNA technology to identify both the victim and the suspect. DNA obtained from the 1991 crime scene in the Florida Keys matched DNA from Bradley's own homicide scene in April 1992. The case became known as the Valentine Jane Doe Homicide. Kirkum was seen hitchhiking out of Key West that evening. Sheriffs officials said Kirkum was never reported missing, and both her parents are now dead.