Cold front induced changes on the Florida panhandle shelf during October 2008

► A cruise sampled the shelf to 65 m depth off the Florida panhandle during October 2008. ► A cold front passed through the sample area mid-cruise. ► The cruise sampled a transition event between cross-shelf stratification and destratification. ► HPLC tracked phytoplankton community redistribution in response to wind forcing. ► Implications for Karenia brevis bloom initiation are discussed.