Clear water in Galveston, Texas

All weekend, residents and visitors of Southeast Texas encountered a phenomenon that only occurs a few times a year: the water at beaches along the southeast coast cleared and resembled Caribbean beaches.

Usually, the beaches in the Galveston area are dark and even muddy. This is due to sediment washed out of the Mississippi River, carried by wind and currents from the Louisiana coast to roughly the central Texas coast. The water is still healthy for fish and marine life, but it's not to the liking of humans.

But when the current changes direction, which usually happens several times a year, especially during August, September, and October, the water clears, bringing hundreds of people to visit the coast in awe and wonder. The big question is always: for how long? The change in current is impossible to predict. It usually persists for several days, but we don't know when it changes, much less when it returns.