Polk County, Florida

47 river gauges reading now, shown against their usual but not yet judged.

Official Warnings

No official warning is in effect here right now.

• Livingston Creek Near Frostproof, FL: water level 41.41 ft · below the lowest October monthly average on record for this gauge (41.55 ft) · U.S. Geological Survey · 49 min ago
• Lake Parker Outlet At Combee Settlement, FL: flow 0.54 ft³/s · below the lowest October monthly average on record for this gauge (0.63 ft³/s) · U.S. Geological Survey · 1 h ago
• Sixmile Creek At Bartow, FL: flow 2.42 ft³/s · below the lowest October monthly average on record for this gauge (4.92 ft³/s) · U.S. Geological Survey · 1 h ago
• Fox Branch Near Socrum, FL: flow 9.35 ft³/s · this gauge’s October monthly average is usually below 7.9 ft³/s · U.S. Geological Survey · 49 min ago
• Fox Branch Near Socrum, FL: water level 4.08 ft · this gauge’s October monthly average is usually below 4.04 ft · U.S. Geological Survey · 49 min ago

River levels are shown against their usual, but not yet judged. A gauge’s usual here is its range of October monthly averages; the reading is the latest 15-minute value, which a passing rain or dry spell can carry outside that range. So no river gauge makes this county Unusual For Here until we compare each day with the same day’s history.

A gauge’s usual is its range of October monthly averages over its record (USGS).

• USGS daily mean streamflow and gage height - Florida: 96 entries for this county · U.S. Geological Survey · read 9 h ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

3 sources answered; nothing recent here.

1 meeting on the agendas we read for the next seven days.

Coming Up

1 report in the last 6 hours, none published as an event.

• Polk County’s Nonpartisan School Board Race Draws Partisan Support · LkldNow · 3 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• Knife-wielding migrant stopped by armed citizens at Polk County Dollar General · WKMG (News 6 CBS) · 11 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• Polk County K9 Ace’s handler gets replacement after line-of-duty shooting: Meet K9 Vader · WTVT · 15 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• Company donates new K-9 to Polk County Sheriff's Office deputy after hearing K-9 Ace's story · WFLA (NBC 8) · 17 h ago Not Yet Confirmed
• Lake Wales man accused of abusing infant who was 'annoying him' · WFLA (NBC 8) · 17 h ago Not Yet Confirmed

1 entry from openFDA food enforcement (FDA) for this county, in its latest read.

• openFDA food enforcement: 1 entry for this county · FDA · read Oct 28, 12:37 AM EDT

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

Lakeland: AQI 41, within the usual daily AQI in October for this county.

• Lakeland: AQI 41 · within the usual daily AQI in October for this county · U.S. EPA AirNow · 1 h ago

• USGS latest streamflow and gage height - Florida: 61 entries for this county · U.S. Geological Survey · read 26 min ago
• AirNow reporting-area AQI (current and forecast): 16 entries for this county · U.S. EPA AirNow · read 1 h ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

1 entry from Duke Energy (Carolinas, Progress, Florida, Indiana, Ohio) outage map (Esri ArcGIS) (Duke Energy (Carolinas, Progress, Florida, Indiana, Ohio)), 1 from SECO Energy outage map (Kubra Storm Center) (SECO Energy) and 1 from Withlacoochee River Electric Coop outage map (utility-built) (Withlacoochee River Electric Coop) for this county, in their latest reads.

• Duke Energy (Carolinas, Progress, Florida, Indiana, Ohio) outage map (Esri ArcGIS): 1 entry for this county · Duke Energy (Carolinas, Progress, Florida, Indiana, Ohio) · read 26 min ago
• SECO Energy outage map (Kubra Storm Center): 1 entry for this county · SECO Energy · read 33 min ago
• Withlacoochee River Electric Coop outage map (utility-built): 1 entry for this county · Withlacoochee River Electric Coop · read 11 min ago

Entries are what each state or utility feed lists for this county: incidents, closures or outage areas. We count them; we do not reproduce them.

1 source here, none answering with current records.

Matters Now

• Rail accidents and crossings (FRA)
  Grade-crossing collision, Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation), AUBURNDALE, NEPTUNE RD, 2026-07-13: 1 person injured. Reported by FRA with the July 2026 data. Federal Railroad Administration

Quiet

• Gasoline prices (EIA): No weekly move of 10 cents or more · U.S. Energy Information Administration · read Oct 26, 9:27 AM EDT

Background

• Gasoline prices (EIA)
  Regular gasoline, Florida, week of 2026-10-19: $3.981 a gallon, up 0 cents from the week before. U.S. Energy Information Administration
• Gasoline prices (EIA)
  Regular gasoline, Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C), week of 2026-10-19: $3.860 a gallon, down 7 cents from the week before. U.S. Energy Information Administration
• Rail accidents and crossings (FRA)
  Rail accident, CSX Transportation, MULBERRY, 2026-06-10. Reported by FRA with the June 2026 data. Federal Railroad Administration
• Rail accidents and crossings (FRA)
  Rail accident, FLORIDA MIDLAND RAILROAD COMPANY, INC., WINTER HAVEN, 2026-05-29. Reported by FRA with the May 2026 data. Federal Railroad Administration
• Employment and wages (QCEW)
  Q1 2026: 265,000 jobs (265,339 a year earlier); $1,142 average weekly wage ($1,111 a year earlier). BLS (QCEW)

Each line is the source's own fields, linked to the source. Unusual is this county against its own history, never against other counties. FRA posts about three months after an accident, so its lines are reported, not breaking. Last read: BLS (QCEW) Oct 12, 9:25 AM EDT; U.S. Energy Information Administration Oct 26, 9:27 AM EDT; Federal Railroad Administration Oct 26, 9:27 AM EDT.

Matters Now

• Fish kills (FWC)
  Fish kill reported, Unnamed canal, 2026-10-05: Unindentified fish. Florida FWC-FWRI
• Fish kills (FWC)
  Fish kill reported, Unnamed Canal, 2026-10-05: Unidentified. Florida FWC-FWRI
• Fish kills (FWC)
  Fish kill reported, private pond, 2026-10-01: Tilapia, Catfish. Florida FWC-FWRI

Quiet

• Non-native species (USGS NAS): No new non-native species alert here in the last 30 days · USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) · read Oct 12, 8:04 PM EDT
• Bird flu in wild birds (APHIS): No detection in wild birds here in the last 30 days · USDA APHIS · read Oct 26, 9:27 AM EDT
• Red tide samples: No sample here at medium or high in the last 8 days · Florida FWC-FWRI · read 33 min ago
• Red tide forecast (NOAA): No irritation forecast at the beaches here · NOAA NCCOS · read 33 min ago
• Introduced species (iNaturalist): No introduced species newly recorded here · iNaturalist · read 7 min ago

Background

• Introduced species (iNaturalist)
  43 research-grade observations of introduced species here in the last 30 days. iNaturalist

Each line is the source's own fields, linked to the source. Unusual is this county against its own history, never against other counties. Bird flu detections are reported in our words with a link to USDA APHIS; its records are not reproduced. iNaturalist observations are shown only under CC0 or CC-BY, with the observer credited; others are counted. Observations with an obscured location are never placed on a county. Last read: USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Oct 12, 8:04 PM EDT; iNaturalist Oct 29, 10:26 AM EDT; USDA APHIS Oct 26, 9:27 AM EDT; Florida FWC-FWRI Oct 29, 10:00 AM EDT; NOAA NCCOS Oct 29, 10:00 AM EDT.

Quiet

• Historic places in harm’s way: No listed place here inside an active wildfire perimeter, warning area or flood zone · National Weather Service · read 3 min ago
• National Register nominations (Federal Register): No nomination here under review · National Park Service (Federal Register) · read 33 min ago
• National Register listings (NPS): No listing or removal here in the last 30 days · National Park Service · read Oct 12, 9:25 AM EDT

Background

• National Register nominations (Federal Register)
  Hansen House, 415 North Lake Lulu Drive, Winter Haven vicinity (Polk County, Florida), reference SG100013549: nominated, comments due 2026-10-15. National Park Service (Federal Register)
• National Register listings (NPS)
  55 properties on the National Register in this county, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks. National Park Service

Each line is the source's own fields, linked to the source. Sites whose location is restricted are never shown. A place inside a hazard area is our overlay of open maps, as of the hazard’s own time; it says nothing of damage. Last read: National Park Service Oct 12, 9:25 AM EDT; National Park Service (Federal Register) Oct 29, 10:00 AM EDT; National Weather Service Oct 29, 10:30 AM EDT.