Overview 

Located between Siesta and Casey Keys in Sarasota County, Midnight Pass has been the subject of much community interest. A silver lining in the impactful 2024 hurricane season was that Hurricanes Helene and Milton reconnected Little Sarasota Bay to the Gulf in 2024, and the pass is now an open inlet. Sarasota County is committed to “Keep Midnight Pass Open!”, a 2025 strategic plan policy initiative building on prior policy commitments to improve water quality in Little Sarasota Bay. 

The County conducts weekly surveys of the inlet, monitoring its position over time (see additional information below). Data is being collected by county staff, consultants, and others, including research and educational institutions from around the state and the country. With this data, the county is committed to taking any action needed to “Keep Midnight Pass Open!”

Background

In 1921, a hurricane opened an inlet between Siesta and Casey Keys.  This inlet was named “Musketeer Pass”, later taking on the name we all know today as “Midnight Pass”.  The inlet changed over the years, expanding and contracting and migrating north and south from its original position.  In the 1950s, it reached a maximum width of 500 ft and a maximum depth of 13ft.  Construction of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1960s resulted in significant impacts to the inlet. Dredging created a major north-south channel in Little Sarasota Bay, which diverted flow in those directions rather than through the inlet. Spoil from the excavation was also placed onto North Casey Key, and what today is the Jim Neville Marine Preserve further disrupting the inlet system and tidal circulation. The resulting, wildly unstable pass migrated northward, threatening the southernmost Gulf-front homes on Siesta Key. 

In 1983, the migration of the pass led the owners of the threatened homes to seek authorization to close it to protect the properties. The action was approved on the condition that the pass should be mechanically reopened farther south. Multiple efforts to reopen the pass were met with failure. In the ensuing years, Sarasota County twice attempted to obtain authorization to reopen the pass, but each attempt was rebuffed by the regulatory agencies.

In 2023, Sarasota County commissioned a study to evaluate the feasibility of restoring a hydrologic connection between the Gulf and Little Sarasota Bay to facilitate water quality improvements in the bay. During the course of the study, Hurricanes Helene and Milton naturally reopened the pass.

2024 Hurricane Season

The 2024 hurricane season brought historic rainfall and storm surge to Sarasota County with four major storms affecting the area: Invest 90L (June 11-12, 2024), Hurricane Debby (August 5, 2024), Hurricane Helene (September 26, 2024), and Hurricane Milton (October 9, 2024). The storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene reopened an ephemeral pass, and Hurricane Milton, eleven days later, fully reopened it for the first time in over 40 years.  To date, Midnight Pass is open, with current observations suggesting that it is now serving as a functional, sustained tidal inlet system.

Looking Ahead

Moving forward, the county’s intent is to keep the pass open. This includes an initial focus on direct feasibility and conceptual planning, environmental studies, regulatory coordination, and preliminary engineering for water quality improvement projects within Little Sarasota Bay based on the current open pass condition.  This work includes coordinating flow and bathymetry studies of the pass, along with weekly deployment of county survey personnel to perform regular surveys of critical inlet measurements such as cross-section and depth. The data acquired is of great value to regulatory and academic institutions as well as the public, as the current conditions have not existed for over 40 years and thus have never been studied at the level possible today. These projects, along with the new tidal exchange facilitated by the inlet, will improve water quality within Little Sarasota Bay and benefit innumerable Sarasota County residents through its enhancement of our local natural resources and environmental health.

Next Steps

Continued monitoring with weekly surveys and periodic flow studies is ongoing. In addition to the work sponsored by Sarasota County, numerous other stakeholders and interested parties have initiated data collection efforts. These entities include:

• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• United States Geological Survey Soil and Sediment Core Analysis
• United States Army Corps of Engineers Meteorological Studies, in-situ equipment near Midnight Pass
• Sarasota Bay Estuary Program - Sarasota
• Mote Marine Laboratory – Sarasota
• New College of Florida – Sarasota
• University of South Florida, Tampa
• University of Florida, Gainesville
• University of Central Florida
• University of Delaware – Center for Applied and Coastal Research
• North Carolina State University
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Sarasota County, in conjunction with Geosyntec Consultants, Inc., has drafted an Emergency Response Plan to be implemented if the condition of the pass warrants action. Thresholds for implementation include:

• A reduction of the cross-section of the pass opening to 500 square feet or less
• Movement of the inlet centerline more than 100 feet north or south of its current position
• Imminent closure due to a storm or other event

Weekly Survey Results

Each week, Sarasota County staff survey the cross-section of the inlet throat and calculate the cross-sectional area. Below is the latest survey as of November 6, 2025.