11/12/24 – On the Harris County Commissioners Court agenda for today, Harris County Engineering has 71 items. Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD) has seven. HCFCD used to battle Engineering each meeting for the title of “most projects on the agenda.” But not these days. The disparity raises questions about HCFCD. Like “What’s going on?” The […]
11/10/24 – Rafael, the up/down, on/off, east/west, north/south storm that defied prediction while stalking the Caribbean and Gulf for the past week, has lost its punch. Rafael, a Rarity Rafael reached Category 3 hurricane strength twice on its sojourn. By 9AM this morning, it was barely a tropical storm. And the National Hurricane Center believes […]
11/09/2024 – A 900,000 cubic yard, $34 million Lake Houston dredging program announced in late 2023 may still launch this year, according to District E Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger. Reportedly contributing to delays according to sundry sources at different times and places: Callan Marine has had their dredge, The General Pershing, docked on […]
11/8/24 – A trip down Northpark Drive today revealed that the focus of Northpark expansion work is shifting west from Russell Palmer toward Loop 494 and US59. The project will create the first all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood. Here’s where things stand. Major Accomplishments since Last Northpark Post Since my last Northpark expansion update, contractors […]
11/7/24 10 AM – Late-season Hurricane Rafael briefly intensified into a Category 3 storm yesterday as it crossed over Cuba. But since then it has gradually weakened. This morning, Hurricane Hunters measured the sustained wind speed at 100 MPH, making it a Cat 2 storm. Cat 2 ranges from 96 to 110 MPH. Recent aircraft […]
11/6/24 – Voters narrowly approved Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Proposition A, a 63% tax increase, by a little more than 2 percent on Election Day. However, Prop A failed dramatically in the underserved Lake Houston Area by almost 13 percent – for a total 15.4 percentage-point swing. The difference underscores frustration over past […]
11/05/24 – Rafael morphed from Tropical Depression #18 to a tropical storm in the Caribbean yesterday. And it could become a hurricane by tonight as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico. However, there is a low likelihood Rafael will reach Texas because of an approaching cold front from the northwest. The front will create […]
11/4/2024 4 PM – The National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) 4 PM update indicates that tropical depression 18 has gained tropical storm strength and will be named Rafael. The report also indicates that Rafael, presently located in the south central Caribbean would likely move over: 45 MPH Winds at 4PM and Strengthening As of 4PM today, […]
11/3/24 – The latest round of repairs to the understructure of the Tree Lane Bridge in Kingwood has been completed. In recent years, flooding, erosion from severe storms, stream migration, and insufficiently mitigated upstream development had jeopardized the integrity of the bridge next to Bear Branch Elementary. Approximately 600 children attend Grades K through 5 […]
11/2/24 – Numerous academic studies have found an increase in the number of storms with decreasing forward speeds, i.e., tropical cyclone stalling, when comparing recent decades with earlier periods. Meteorologists call the distance that tropical cyclones travel in a given amount of time “tropical cyclone translation speed” or TCTS. They have also found that TCTS […]