By Jeff Lindner, Harris County Flood Control District’s Director Hydrologic Operations Division/Meteorologist, with a few minor edits for a non-technical audience. There have been many comparisons of this summer to that of 2011 with respect to the heat and drought. Below, see the comparison of drought, water supply storage, and heat between 2011 and 2023. […]
The massive $1.77 billion expansion of the 120-acre Northeast Water Purification Plant near Summerwood is now well into its last phase. The last update to the expansion website is dated May 23, 2023 and estimates completion in 2025. Contractors have made considerable progress since May. This satellite image is dated 6/14/23. Note the area on […]
8/21/23 (9 AM CDT) – Three named storms have formed in the Atlantic in two days and we will likely get fourth (in the Gulf of Mexico) today or tomorrow. Tropical storms Emily and Gert formed in the Atlantic yesterday (8/20/23). Gert formed overnight. And a fourth disturbance barreling across the Gulf of Mexico toward […]
(11AM 8/20/23 and updated at 7PM) Here’s something you don’t often see – a tropical disturbance that could increase fire danger more than flood risk. The 8am 7-day tropical outlook from the National Hurricane Center shows that Tropical Storm Emily has formed in the Atlantic. Separately, a disturbance lingering over the Bahamas has finally crossed […]
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, the Atlantic Basin had four areas of concern. Today, it has five. And, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the chances of tropical development have increased for all of them since yesterday. See the seven-day outlook for the Atlantic Basin below and note the time: Saturday, August […]
Update as of 6:30 PM: Outbound lanes have opened. One inbound lane open. Utility crews onsite. Northpark Drive is closed in the worst possible place at the worst possible time – Friday night during rush hour in a construction zone. However, the accident that caused the closure is not related to construction. A little before […]
Still three weeks from the peak of hurricane season (September 10), the tropical forecast has suddenly become more active. The latest seven-day outlook from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows four areas of concern. Two will not affect the Texas Gulf Coast. Eventually, the other two could get close. Chances of Tropical Formation According to […]
The drainage project currently underway down the median of Northpark Drive represents only part of the drainage improvements for the expansion project. Another parallel drainage system about 250 yards north of Northpark will carry additional stormwater all the way from U.S. 59 to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch. Project engineers call it “Ditch […]
Colony Ridge, the world’s largest trailer park, fails to meet Liberty County regulations for the construction of stormwater detention basins and ditches. The development’s basins and ditches routinely lack erosion controls such as grass and backslope interceptor swales. The resulting erosion can reduce the conveyance of streams, increase flood risk and threaten property both inside […]
After a sharp decline in the first quarter of 2023, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) spending rebounded slightly in the second quarter. Second quarter spending did not recover to recent peaks, but at least exceeded pre-2018 Flood Bond levels. One Third of Bond Money Spent in Half the Projected Time However, HCFCD is still […]