Want to know even more information about the beach before you leave the house? You can help.

Mote Marine Laboratory reports daily beach conditions on visitbeaches.org. The scientists and data crunchers at Mote are now gathering public input to get a better idea of what people want to see reported on the site.

Before heading out for a day of sun and surf, beachgoers can learn ahead of time what the air and surface water temperatures are, wind directions and speed, whether debris is sloshing up onto the shoreline, the size of any waves, whether rip tides are present or not.

The reports cover public beaches from Florida's Panhandle, Clearwater south to Marco Island, Jacksonville and Lake Worth Beach on the East Coast. Most reports are posted 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily.

Especially important when red tide algae is blooming, Mote reports whether or not people suffer respiratory irritations -- a sign of toxic levels of red tide is present -- and whether dead marine life from fish kills are washing ashore. The reports also lets beachgoers know when jellyfish are in the shallows.

Since 2015, Tracy Fanara, Mote staff scientist and program manager, said, Mote added reports of crowd size at public beaches. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowing the size of the crowd can be important to those who want to maintain social distance while sunbathing.

Lifeguards, county and municipal employees, and other trained volunteer "beach ambassadors" provide Mote with daily reports, Fanara said.

The public can take the survey online at https://forms.gle/bmeYVpqAtzeNq5Ns5.

Among the questions, the survey asks respondents what condition reports they deem most important. People can also write in additional information they would like to see reported that isn't reported now.

Respondents are also asked whether they'd like to see beach closures reported. Do they want other daily condition reports for parks, lakes, rivers, nature preserves and sanctuaries? Or do they want Mote to stick with beach conditions?

People will also be asked if they would sign up to be a beach ambassador volunteer who will report beach conditions twice daily using a cell phone app.

For more information, visit Mote's website at mote.org or visitbeaches.org.

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What do you want to know about the beach? - yoursun.com