Cold-stunned green sea turtles are recovering at a Florida marine life center

JUNO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An arctic blast that brought a rare snowfall to northern Florida last week left green sea turtles as far south as St. Augustine suffering from a condition known as cold stunning.

Seventeen sea turtles that were found stranded along Florida’s northeastern Atlantic Coast were brought to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, north of West Palm Beach, where they are rehabbing.

“When it’s cold on land, it’s also cold in the ocean. And that led to a number of turtles being beached or very debilitated and just floating in the water,” said Dr. Heather Barron, the chief science officer and veterinarian at the center.

The staff named named the rescued turtles after beverages, and they painted their new names on the back of their shells. Veterinarians are treating them with antibiotics, fluids and intravenous nutrition.

While it snowed as far south as northern Florida, which is extremely rare, the…