Two hurricanes did in a matter of days what decades of advocacy could not: reopen Midnight Pass, the narrow channel between Siesta Key and Casey Key that had been sealed off from the Gulf since 1983. Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through Sarasota County in the fall of 2024, and by the time the water settled, Little Sarasota Bay had its tidal connection back for the first time in more than four decades.
According to Sarasota County, Hurricane Milton fully reopened the pass on October 9, 2024, eleven days after Hurricane Helene first weakened the barrier — though a separate account from the Sarasota Observer puts the date the pass was torn all the way open at October 10, 2024. Either way, the storms accomplished what property owners Syd Solomon and Pasco Carter Jr. had undone back in 1983, when they received permission to close the pass on the condition it eventually be mechanically reopened farther south — a condition that was never fulfilled. As the Miami Herald notes in its account of the pass's comeback, the waterway has a long history of shifting with storms, having first been carved out in October 1921 when a hurricane opened what was then called Musketeers Pass, renamed Midnight Pass in 1924.
A Pass That Keeps Moving, But Holding
Geosyntec, the engineering firm Sarasota County has engaged to gather coastal data on the reopened inlet, has conducted nearly 90 surveys of the inlet's cross-section since October 29, 2024, per the Miami Herald's reporting. Mike Jenkins, a senior principal engineer with Geosyntec, presented findings to the Sarasota County Commission on September 22, telling commissioners the pass is about 16 feet deep, according to Geosyntec. Jenkins has classified the pass as “dynamically stable,” meaning it shifts position slightly but in a controlled way, as reported by The Sun.
Measurements of the pass's dimensions vary depending on the source and the moment. The Sun reports the inlet's throat moves back and forth between two points about 60 feet apart, while the Miami Herald reports a width of 125 to 150 feet and WGCU describes a steadier width of roughly 200 feet with depth ranging from 11 to 17 feet depending on tides. The Miami Herald's reporting adds that the pass varies seasonally, narrowing to about nine feet deep in winter and widening to 12 to 14 feet during the rainy season, with depths spiking to 17 feet after large volumes of water move through.
Cleaner, Saltier Water for Little Sarasota Bay
The reopening has meaningfully changed how the bay breathes. Per the Miami Herald's account of the story, Little Sarasota Bay exchanged only about 25 percent of its water over a 10-day period while the pass was closed, a figure that has jumped to roughly 70 percent now that the pass is open — a shift that makes the bay saltier and clearer, with drought conditions in 2024 also helping the bay recover after the storms. The reopening has also raised questions about water quality and possible impacts on seagrass and wildlife, areas that will require further study.
Not every consequence is welcome. Reopening the pass may also raise the risk of red tide exposure and storm-surge flooding reaching Little Sarasota Bay through the newly direct Gulf-to-bay waterway, a concern raised to WUSF by the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. WGCU separately notes that climate change and more frequent intense tropical storms could worsen flooding risk in the bay now that the Gulf has a more direct path in.
Boaters Flock In, Advocates Urge Caution
The pass has become a draw for both wildlife and weekend traffic. Manatees now use Midnight Pass to move in and out of the bay, and schools of mullet and large snook have moved in alongside them, while the channel has become a magnet for both locals and tourists, per the Miami Herald. Ryan Gandy, executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, told the Herald the pass has become a major attraction and that boat-rental fleets have expanded in response, with 50 or more boats sometimes present during a holiday weekend.
The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program hosted a workshop earlier this summer, bringing together 14 organizations to address environmental changes and the effects of increased recreation and vessel traffic on seagrass and wildlife; participants concluded that more information and boater education are needed.
Funding, Monitoring and an Eye on Dredging
Sarasota County has committed real money to keeping watch. The county approved $500,000 to continue monitoring the pass for another 12 months, funded by $500,000 from the West Coast Inland Navigation District's County Navigation Improvement Fund, as detailed by WWSB ABC 7. The Florida Legislature had separately set aside $500,000 in 2024 for a plan to maintain the pass, per the Miami Herald, and in January 2025 the West Coast Inland Navigation District declared the Gulf connection and its associated north and east channels in Little Sarasota Bay public channels, making funds available for projects aimed at keeping the pass open.
County staff survey the inlet's cross-section weekly, and current observations indicate Midnight Pass is now functioning as a sustained tidal inlet system, according to Sarasota County. Officials have drafted an emergency response plan for the pass, and the county is developing a longer-term inlet management plan that would define triggers for corrective measures, likely dredging.
