Myakka River near SR 72 near Sarasota, 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 02298830 sits on the Myakka River and reads everything draining 229 square miles of the Myakka basin. Its datum sits 8 feet above sea level NGVD29. Daily flow has been on record here since 1937, 89 years of it.

Where this gauge sits in the drainage

Upper Myakka Lake near Sarasota FL sits immediately upstream, so dam releases rather than rainfall set the flow here. Three gauged sites sit upstream of here. The closest is Upper Myakka Lake near Sarasota FL, reading 215 square miles. This gauge adds the 14 square miles that drain in between. Downstream the next reading comes from Lower Myakka Lake near Sarasota FL at 240 square miles, so what passes this gauge is about 95% of the water measured there. Water passing here goes on to Myakka River at Control near Laurel FL and Myakka River at North Port Charlotte FL.

Normal flows here

The Myakka River runs a median of 46 cfs at this gauge across 89 years of record. September is the fullest month at a median 480 cfs, and May the leanest at 9.1 cfs. The highest daily mean on record is 12,600 cfs in 2023, and the lowest is 0.0 cfs in 1957.

Medians from the USGS daily-statistics record, 1937 to 2026. A month at 100% is running at its own long-term median.

Flood stages and record crests

The Myakka River reaches flood stage at this gauge at 7 feet. NWS starts watching it at 6.5 feet. The highest crest on record is 12.8 feet, in October 2022.

Flood categories and crest history from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MKCF1. Stages are gage height, not depth. Not for navigation.