On Sunday morning, Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident who lives near Woodridge Village, reported 5.5 inches in his rain gage. That compares to a 6.24 inch rain that fell on Woodridge on May 7, 2019, when hundreds of homes in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest flooded. Also, Woodridge falls about 40% short of current Atlas-14 standards required to hold back floodwater from a 100-year storm.
Other important factors came into play last weekend that should relieve some of residents’ anxiety and help explain what happened.
First, remember that on May 7, 2019, Perry Homes’ contractors had clearcut 268 acres, but had barely begun work on detention ponds. Only one of five was complete.
Second, the intensity of the May 7, 2019 rain was higher than last weekend’s. On May 7, 6.24 inches fell in 5 hours. Last weekend, 5.5 inches fell in 9 hours.
Third, in 2019, the S2 detention area had been partially excavated but didn’t have any outflow control restrictions installed yet. So it didn’t really function as a detention pond.
Fourth, contractors had destroyed a berm between Elm Grove and Woodridge, and filled in a natural stream on Woodridge. Both have since been replaced.
I took the photos below Sunday morning between periodic sprinkles, several hours after heavy rain stopped. They show how the current Woodridge Village detention handled the storm. All ponds were well within their banks. One was empty.
The triangular pond on the left is N2. N1 is out of sight above it. The two ponds on the right are S1 (foreground) and S2 beyond it. N3 is out of sight at the top of the frame.
S2 was about halfway to two-thirds full.
The tail of S2 is already silting in but had plenty of room to spare.
N3 Pond on eastern edge of property was supposed to have had an outflow control device but never got one.
The Junction where water from all five ponds comes together before flowing into Taylor Gully. N3 is at top of frame.
Reverse angle shot of the Junction with Taylor Gully in the background. Note how high the detention ponds are compared to the gully.The areas that flooded so badly in 2019 are just beyond the ponds.
Water coming from the big trianglar N2 pond now has to go through these twin culverts which were almost completely inundated.
Wider shot shows volume of water backed up in N2.
Only N1 in the NW corner of Woodridge was totally dry. The outflow capacity is much greater than the inflow. So this pond provides no detention benefit whatsoever. Local resident Jeff Miller says he has NEVER seen standing water in this pond.
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
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In the image below, note how much higher the rainfall totals are near the red line compared to areas farther away. Most upstream areas received less than an inch or two, limiting the amount that traveled downstream.
Red line indicated path of supercells that tracked across the center of the county last weekend. Note how highest rainfall totals parallel line.
Heavy But Not Harvey
If you were under one of those supercells, you probably received 5-8 inches of rain between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning – a little more than a 12-hour time span. Consulting NOAA’s Atlas-14 Rainfall Probability table for this area, you can see that those totals correspond to 2- to 10-year storms. Heavy! But not Harvey!
NOAA’s Atlas-14 rainfall probabilities for the Lake Houston Area
Storms Tracked Perpendicular to Most Watersheds
In Harris County most watersheds track from NW to SE. But the storms tracked perpendicular to that. That limited the amount of water dumped in most watersheds. It might have been very different had the storms tracked parallel with bayous.
Here was the channel status report from Harris County Flood Control on Sunday shortly after noon. It shows that virtually all channels were well within their banks. Only the gage at Luce Bayou and SH321 in Liberty County indicated flooding was a possibility near Lake Houston (warning triangle in upper right).
Despite receiving the highest rainfall total in the area (8.56 inches)…
…Luce Bayou never did come out of its banks at that location. See below. As of today, Luce is falling.
Halls Bayou near 45 briefly came out of its banks, but no structures were reported flooded. Same for Greens Bayou at 59. Water briefly got up to the feeder road there.
Brickhouse Gully, White Oak and Buffalo Bayous were also briefly in danger of coming out of banks in places, but receded quickly according to a HCFCD source. They were all back in banks before I could get there with a camera.
Photos of Area Streams and Bayous
At the East Fork and FM1485, I found a high water caution sign on the road Sunday afternoon. But again, the river was well within its banks. The closest it came to flooding was 2 feet from the top of bank three hours before I took this photo.
Here’s how some other local streams and channels fared in the heavy weekend rains.
A tributary channel of Bens Branch between Woodridge Forest and Northpark Drive next to Kingwood Park High School.That cleared area is the new Preserve at Woodridge that will offer 660 SF homes.
Bens Branch looking E (downstream toward Woodland Hills Drive. CVS on Northpark Drive (left). This was the highest part of the highest stream I found.Notice how it’s almost coming out on the left.
St. Martha’s School Parking lot flooded again a little farther downstream on Bens Branch.
Looking west at Bens Branch toward West Lake Houston Parkway. Note debris line on the leftbank in the sun.
The debris line in Taylor Gully shows water never got more than halfway up the bank. Looking upstream from the Maple Bend bridge.
Kingwood Diversion Ditch north of Walnut Lane in distance just hours after tornado ripped through area.
Confluence of East Fork San Jacinto (right) and Caney Creek (left). Note docks still above water on right.
No Reports of Flooded Structures in Harris County
As of 8 PM Monday, Harris County Flood Control had not received any reports of structures flooding from the heavy weekend rains.
Storms of this magnitude are common in Houston, but not for January. Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist remembered two in the last decade.
“We had comparable totals on 1-9-2012 in the Brays Bayou watershed (6.6 inches peak in 12 hours). On 1-18-2017, we also had several 4-7 inch gage readings on Brays and 7.0 inches in 12 hours on Lower White Oak Bayou.”
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Early Sunday morning on January 9, 2022, an EF-1 tornado touched down along the Kingwood Diversion Ditch between Hamblen and Kingwood Drive. It damaged trees and homes on both sides of the ditch for several blocks. By early afternoon, tree crews were swarming over the area, making the streets barely passable.
Tornado or Just Strong Winds?
I asked one of the crews if they were sure a tornado caused the damage. They said yes, based on the type of damage they saw. The tops of trees had been twisted off like screw caps. See photos below taken on Sunday afternoon after the storm cleared out.
Note two garages and corner of one home damaged by toppled trees east of ditch.
While some trees were uprooted, the vast majority of the damage involved “topped trees.” Had straight line winds been the cause, you would see more uprooted trees. The damage would have been more widespread. And the trees would have been pushed down in a uniform direction rather than scattered like pick-up sticks.
Looking south along Kingwood Diversion Ditch. Note eight topped trees left of the ditch and one of the tops hanging from a wire over the ditch.
West of ditch on Forest Cove side. Note damaged garages, back corner of home, and trees still hanging from wires.
Close up of topped tree and blown-over fence.
Portion of fallen tree thrown through fence by winds.
Forlorn homeowner on crushed gable. “Where do I go from here?”
ABC-13 confirmed the strength of the tornado on its evening news tonight. According to ABC, the tornado came through at approximately 1:30 AM. According to residents I spoke to, the noise was deafening and pets started acting nervous about that time.
Dogs Knew Before You Did
This article from Psychology Today explains that dogs’ hearing is four times more sensitive than humans’. That means they can hear things four times farther away – sooner than we can. Canine hearing also picks up higher pitched sounds. If the noise sounds deafening to you, think how painful it must be for your pooch.
I live near Kingwood High School two miles away. At precisely 1:30, my dog started whimpering, trembling, and tried to jump in bed with me.
Storm Totals Compared to Record and Climate Norm
For the record, the storm that started Saturday afternoon and ended early Sunday morning dumped about 4.96 inches in my rain gage. Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident said he had 5.5 inches in his.
These are unusually high amounts for January. The all time record for January 8 was 5.89 inches, set in 1891, 130 years ago! Houston usually receives 3.4 inches for the whole month of January. Plum Grove on the East Fork received 6.88 inches in this storm – more than double the monthly average for the Houston area. Luce Bayou on 321 in Liberty County received an incredible 8.56 inches in the storm. Had either of those locations been the official recording station, this storm would have gone down in history.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/9/2022
1594 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220109-DJI_0404.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-01-09 19:55:532022-01-10 20:44:59Pics of Tornado Damage in Kingwood/Forest Cove
Woodridge Village Detention Ponds Passed Sunday Test, But…
On Sunday morning, Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident who lives near Woodridge Village, reported 5.5 inches in his rain gage. That compares to a 6.24 inch rain that fell on Woodridge on May 7, 2019, when hundreds of homes in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest flooded. Also, Woodridge falls about 40% short of current Atlas-14 standards required to hold back floodwater from a 100-year storm.
So you can understand how nervous Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest residents felt, especially considering that excavation of additional detention ponds on Woodridge Village has not yet started. Regardless, Woodridge did not flood homes across the county line this time. Here’s why.
Important Factors to Consider
Other important factors came into play last weekend that should relieve some of residents’ anxiety and help explain what happened.
First, remember that on May 7, 2019, Perry Homes’ contractors had clearcut 268 acres, but had barely begun work on detention ponds. Only one of five was complete.
Second, the intensity of the May 7, 2019 rain was higher than last weekend’s. On May 7, 6.24 inches fell in 5 hours. Last weekend, 5.5 inches fell in 9 hours.
Third, in 2019, the S2 detention area had been partially excavated but didn’t have any outflow control restrictions installed yet. So it didn’t really function as a detention pond.
Fourth, contractors had destroyed a berm between Elm Grove and Woodridge, and filled in a natural stream on Woodridge. Both have since been replaced.
Fifth, by current standards, last weekend we had a 5-year storm. But the detention ponds were designed to hold what today would be classified as a 25-year storm.
Photos Taken Sunday Morning
I took the photos below Sunday morning between periodic sprinkles, several hours after heavy rain stopped. They show how the current Woodridge Village detention handled the storm. All ponds were well within their banks. One was empty.
Big Test and Additional Excavation Yet to Come
So the Perry-installed detention passed another test. But it was far from what college students would call a final exam.
Flood Control purchased this site last year and plans to turn it into a regional detention basin by more than doubling the detention capacity. However, the excavation contract lets the contractor take the dirt when it can be sold, while only meeting minimum monthly requirements which have not yet kicked in.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/11/2022
1596 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Despite Heavy Weekend Rains, Most Area Channels and Streams Stayed Within Banks
Despite heavy weekend rains, with a few exceptions, streams and channels stayed within their banks. There are several possible explanations.
Rainfall Map of Heavy Weekend Rains
In the image below, note how much higher the rainfall totals are near the red line compared to areas farther away. Most upstream areas received less than an inch or two, limiting the amount that traveled downstream.
Heavy But Not Harvey
If you were under one of those supercells, you probably received 5-8 inches of rain between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning – a little more than a 12-hour time span. Consulting NOAA’s Atlas-14 Rainfall Probability table for this area, you can see that those totals correspond to 2- to 10-year storms. Heavy! But not Harvey!
Storms Tracked Perpendicular to Most Watersheds
In Harris County most watersheds track from NW to SE. But the storms tracked perpendicular to that. That limited the amount of water dumped in most watersheds. It might have been very different had the storms tracked parallel with bayous.
Here was the channel status report from Harris County Flood Control on Sunday shortly after noon. It shows that virtually all channels were well within their banks. Only the gage at Luce Bayou and SH321 in Liberty County indicated flooding was a possibility near Lake Houston (warning triangle in upper right).
Despite receiving the highest rainfall total in the area (8.56 inches)…
…Luce Bayou never did come out of its banks at that location. See below. As of today, Luce is falling.
Halls Bayou near 45 briefly came out of its banks, but no structures were reported flooded. Same for Greens Bayou at 59. Water briefly got up to the feeder road there.
Brickhouse Gully, White Oak and Buffalo Bayous were also briefly in danger of coming out of banks in places, but receded quickly according to a HCFCD source. They were all back in banks before I could get there with a camera.
Photos of Area Streams and Bayous
At the East Fork and FM1485, I found a high water caution sign on the road Sunday afternoon. But again, the river was well within its banks. The closest it came to flooding was 2 feet from the top of bank three hours before I took this photo.
Here’s how some other local streams and channels fared in the heavy weekend rains.
No Reports of Flooded Structures in Harris County
As of 8 PM Monday, Harris County Flood Control had not received any reports of structures flooding from the heavy weekend rains.
Storms of this magnitude are common in Houston, but not for January. Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist remembered two in the last decade.
“We had comparable totals on 1-9-2012 in the Brays Bayou watershed (6.6 inches peak in 12 hours). On 1-18-2017, we also had several 4-7 inch gage readings on Brays and 7.0 inches in 12 hours on Lower White Oak Bayou.”
For now, most Harris County residents can chalk this one up in the “close-call” column. But let’s remember that people in Plum Grove DID flood. And pray for the tornado victims in Humble, Kingwood and Forest Cove.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/10/2021
1595 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Pics of Tornado Damage in Kingwood/Forest Cove
Early Sunday morning on January 9, 2022, an EF-1 tornado touched down along the Kingwood Diversion Ditch between Hamblen and Kingwood Drive. It damaged trees and homes on both sides of the ditch for several blocks. By early afternoon, tree crews were swarming over the area, making the streets barely passable.
Tornado or Just Strong Winds?
I asked one of the crews if they were sure a tornado caused the damage. They said yes, based on the type of damage they saw. The tops of trees had been twisted off like screw caps. See photos below taken on Sunday afternoon after the storm cleared out.
While some trees were uprooted, the vast majority of the damage involved “topped trees.” Had straight line winds been the cause, you would see more uprooted trees. The damage would have been more widespread. And the trees would have been pushed down in a uniform direction rather than scattered like pick-up sticks.
ABC-13 confirmed the strength of the tornado on its evening news tonight. According to ABC, the tornado came through at approximately 1:30 AM. According to residents I spoke to, the noise was deafening and pets started acting nervous about that time.
Dogs Knew Before You Did
This article from Psychology Today explains that dogs’ hearing is four times more sensitive than humans’. That means they can hear things four times farther away – sooner than we can. Canine hearing also picks up higher pitched sounds. If the noise sounds deafening to you, think how painful it must be for your pooch.
I live near Kingwood High School two miles away. At precisely 1:30, my dog started whimpering, trembling, and tried to jump in bed with me.
Storm Totals Compared to Record and Climate Norm
For the record, the storm that started Saturday afternoon and ended early Sunday morning dumped about 4.96 inches in my rain gage. Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident said he had 5.5 inches in his.
These are unusually high amounts for January. The all time record for January 8 was 5.89 inches, set in 1891, 130 years ago! Houston usually receives 3.4 inches for the whole month of January. Plum Grove on the East Fork received 6.88 inches in this storm – more than double the monthly average for the Houston area. Luce Bayou on 321 in Liberty County received an incredible 8.56 inches in the storm. Had either of those locations been the official recording station, this storm would have gone down in history.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/9/2022
1594 Days since Hurricane Harvey