Manatee River at SR 64 near Myakka Head, FL Water Level Today

NWS river forecast

Forecast from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service. Issued a few times a day and only while a forecast is active. Not for navigation.

Last 30 days

About this gauge

USGS gauge 02299950 sits on the Manatee River and reads everything draining 65 square miles of the Manatee basin. Its datum sits 41 feet above sea level NGVD29. Daily flow has been on record here since 1967, 60 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

No gauged site sits above this one on the mainstem, so this is the first published reading on the river. Downstream the next reading comes from Manatee River at Rye FL at 137 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 48% of the water measured there.

Normal flows here

The Manatee River runs a median of 16 cfs at this gauge across 60 years of record. August is the fullest month at a median 95 cfs, and May the leanest at 5.7 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 6,440 cfs in 2003, and the lowest is 0.1 cfs in 1975.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1967 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Manatee River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 11 feet. NWS starts watching it at 9.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 20.9 feet, in June 2003.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MKHF1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.