Florida is preparing for another record year of sargassum, the ugly brown seaweed that's good for nature (to an extent), and bad for beach bums.

Giant sargassum patches from the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea started beaching around the Caribbean and in southeast Florida late last month. Now, it's really starting to pile up there, while other island-like masses of the squishy seaweed are starting to reach other beaches up and down the peninsula.

Scientists at the University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Laboratory expect this "to be another major Sargassum year, and likely to be a record year by Summer 2026."

(MORE: Everything You Need To Know About Sargassum)

Sargassum makes pristine beaches look and smell gross, harming the state's most important industry, tourism. Decomposing sargassum is also harmful to humans: it releases hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which can irritate your eyes and respiratory system, and it picks up pollutants, sea lice and other things that are bad for people to be around.

It is, however, an important part of the marine ecosystem. Sea turtles, fish, crabs, shrimp and more use it as a habitat, but it is best at moderate levels, not record-setting ones.

NOAA’s Sargassum Inundation Risk tool now provides daily reports on the location and risk levels of sargassum on U.S. and other beaches in and around the Caribbean. It shows that there's a medium or high level of sargassum along most of Florida's east coast, from around St. Augustine all the way down to Key West. There are also medium and high levels along parts of the other Gulf Coast states.