9/13/2026 – Today is the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Ike, whose eye passed directly over Kingwood.
It got me wondering. How many storms have caused significant flooding somewhere in the seven-county Houston/Galveston Region since 2008? Short answer – 24, including 14 tropical and 10 non-tropical. For details and implications, read on.
Caveats on Search
ChatGPT helped. It reviewed a dozen websites, including the National Weather Service, NOAA, FEMA, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), and news sites such as ReduceFlooding, ABC13, Click2Houston, Houston Chronicle, and Rice University’s Baker Institute.
The tropical category had a clear threshold, but non-tropical events were more judgment-dependent. If you included every storm known to have flooded at least a few homes, the count would rise. But 10 is defensible if the threshold is “significant flood damage.”
Tropical Events Affecting Houston Region Since 2008
Of the 14 tropical events, five were especially consequential: Ike, Harvey, Imelda, Nicholas, and Beryl. See the entire list below.
Year
Dates
Storm
Classification
Principal Houston Area Affected
2008
Aug. 5
Edouard
Tropical Storm
Landfall near McFaddin Wildlife Refuge; wind and rain across the Houston–Galveston region
2008
Sept. 12–13
Ike
Hurricane, Category 2
Landfall near Galveston; destructive wind, surge, widespread flooding
2015
June 16–17
Bill
Tropical Storm
Coastal flooding, storm surge, rainfall; minor flooding in portions of Harris and Galveston
2017
June 21–22
Cindy
Tropical Storm
Minor coastal flooding on Galveston and Bolivar Peninsula; rain in eastern portions of region
2017
Aug. 25–30
Harvey
Hurricane, Category 4 at initial Texas landfall
Catastrophic rainfall and river, bayou and reservoir flooding throughout metropolitan Houston
2019
Sept. 17–19
Imelda
Tropical Storm
Extreme rainfall, flooding, especially NE Harris, SE Montgomery, Liberty and Chambers counties
2020
June 6–8
Cristobal
Tropical Storm
Elevated tides, high surf and coastal flooding along Upper Texas Coast
2020
July 24–26
Hanna
Hurricane, Category 1
Outer rainbands, gusty winds, high surf and coastal effects
2020
Aug. 26–27
Laura
Hurricane, Category 4
Wind, surge, coastal effects, principally in Chambers and far eastern Liberty counties
2020
Sept. 20–23
Beta
Tropical Storm
Prolonged rainfall, street and coastal flooding, particularly south and southeast of Houston
2021
Sept. 13–14
Nicholas
Hurricane, Category 1
Landfall near Sargent; strong winds, heavy rain, coastal flooding, wide power outages
2024
June 18–20
Alberto
Tropical Storm
High surf, elevated tides and coastal flooding along Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula
2024
46211
Beryl
Hurricane, Category 1
Direct passage across metro area; damaging winds, flooding, tornadoes, extensive power outages
2024
Sept. 10–11
Francine
Hurricane, Category 2 at Louisiana landfall
High surf, elevated tides and relatively minor coastal effects on the Upper Texas Coast
Non-Tropical Events Affecting Houston Region Since 2008
Significant non-tropical events included:
Year
Date(s)
Event
Principal Area and Effects
2009
April 27–28
West Houston flood
Extreme short-duration rainfall; hundreds of homes flooded along Brays Bayou, Buffalo Bayou and Langham Creek; serious road flooding
2012
January 9
January severe-storm flood
Intense rain flooded homes and roads around Mission Bend, southwest Houston, Pearland and portions of Brazoria County; accompanied by tornadoes
2012
July 9–10
North Harris County flood
Slow-moving thunderstorms flooded more than 70 structures and numerous roads, especially in northern Harris County
2015
May 13–14
Clear Lake/Pre-Memorial Day flood
Homes and roads flooded in Clear Lake, Pasadena, Friendswood and southeastern Harris County; at least one death
2015
May 25–26
Memorial Day Flood
Approximately 6,000 homes flooded in Harris County; severe flooding along Brays, Buffalo and White Oak bayous; seven flood-related deaths
2015
October 30–31
Halloween Flood
Several hundred homes damaged or flooded across the Houston region; major road flooding and fatalities
2016
April 17–18
Tax Day Flood
More than 7,000 homes and roughly 2,700 apartment units flooded; extreme rainfall in western and northwestern Harris County; nine deaths
2016
May 26–June 3
Memorial Day/Brazos River Flood
Major river flooding in Fort Bend, Brazoria, Waller and Montgomery counties; hundreds of homes affected, evacuations and fatalities
2019
May 7–9
Kingwood–Elm Grove flood
Approximately 200 homes flooded in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest; widespread street and drainage flooding elsewhere
2024
April 28–May 5
San Jacinto–Trinity River flood
Repeated thunderstorms produced major flooding along the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto; hundreds rescued, homes inundated and communities evacuated
Key Conclusions
The central takeaway: Houston’s flooding is not solely a hurricane problem. It is a a heavy rainfall and drainage problem that hurricanes sometimes magnify.
A few other conclusions stand out:
Non-tropical storms matter as much as named storms. They occur approximately every other year.
Houston can flood in almost any month — not just during hurricane season. Flood preparedness and drainage maintenance must be year-round activities.
Ordinary-looking thunderstorms can become extraordinary disasters. Memorial Day and Tax Day floods demonstrate that a stalled line of thunderstorms can flood thousands of structures.
Floods cluster rather than arrive at orderly intervals. The phrase “100-year flood” does not mean residents receive 99 safe years between events.
Rainfall intensity, location and timing often matter more than the regional total. San Jacinto headwaters can cause devastating local damage while much of the metropolitan area remains relatively unaffected.
Different mechanisms produce different floods: street flooding, bayou/river overflow, reservoir flooding, storm surge and runoff from adjacent development. No single project or agency can address all of them.
Homes can flood even when relatively little rain falls directly over them. Rainfall in Montgomery, Liberty, Waller or other upstream counties can arrive later as riverine flooding.
Development decisions can convert a localized storm into a neighborhood disaster as the May 2019 Elm Grove flood illustrates.
The absence of a recent catastrophic floods does not demonstrate that the system has been fixed. Since Harvey, Houston has still experienced Imelda, Beta, Nicholas, the May 2019 flood, the 2024 San Jacinto flood and Beryl.
Each type of flooding exploits a different weakness in a fragmented regional system.
What the Region Needs
The region needs coordinated watershed governance, conservative development standards, adequate detention, drainage maintenance, updated rainfall assumptions, floodplain preservation, warning systems and projects designed around cumulative river basin behavior.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/13/2026
3302 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 18 years since Ike
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240503-20240503_164539.jpg?fit=1100%2C508&ssl=15081100adminadmin2026-09-13 22:10:262026-09-13 22:29:23How Many Storms Caused Significant Houston Flooding Since Ike?
9/12/26 – On 9./18/26, Montgomery County (MoCo) Commissioners Court will consider changes to its Drainage Criteria and Development Regulations. See Item 12A on the agenda.
Just last year, Montgomery County adopted a new drainage criteria manual. It was the first major update in decades. The new manual was first proposed in early 2024. That followed a minor update in 2019 from the county’s old 1988 drainage criteria manual in effect at the time of Harvey.
It adopted many, but not all of the minimum drainage criteria proposed by Harris County for other counties draining into Harris. MoCo allows fill in the 500-year floodplain, but Harris doesn’t. And Harris requires homes to be built at the 500-year flood elevation, whereas MoCo requires only the 100-year.
Making the manual easier to understand and use. For instance, it clarifies the meaning of many terms
Improving navigation in the document by adding hyperlinks to the table of contents in the PDF version
Expanding the scope of approved modeling software
Clarifying the County’s position on:
Nonproprietary (Primary) Modeling Software
Proprietary Modeling Software
Advanced Modeling
Spreadsheet Calculations
Secondary (Check) Analysis
Adding a section on “TAILWATER.” Tailwater is the downstream water level that controls or influences how easily upstream water can get out. The following items are described in this new section: free outfall, normal depth, fixed elevation, rating curve, regulatory, dynamic, conservative maximum, and required documentation.
Modifying content discussing “MINIMUM DETENTION RATE” for clarity and better alignment with FEMA and County floodplain requirements.
Adding to “DETENTION STRUCTURE DESIGN” to better explain the concept of “Hydraulically Connected Detention Ponds”
Creating a new section called “BASE LEVEL ENGINEERING,” explaining what BLE is and how to use BLE in proposed designs submitted to the County for permitting.
Clarifying requirements for “Drainage Submittals” and deliverables.
Adding new definitions for numerous concepts.
By and large, these changes seem focused on clarifying the County’s requirements so that developers and the County’s Engineering Department can minimize “back-and-forth” changes/requests.
How will “tailwater” affect the outfall from this storm drain? When water in the ditch gets high, will it back water up into streets and neighborhoods? New MoCo Drainage Criteria proposal would require engineers to answer those questions and more.
MoCo regulations require developers to submit plans to commissioners before submitting them to the engineering department for final approval.
On the plus side, the amendment will help ensure timely processing and improve government efficiency.
But this change also comes with a potential downside, in my opinion. Two weeks doesn’t allow much time for public input or protest. It usually takes that long to get copies of documents via FOIA or Public Information Requests, assuming the requests don’t get appealed to the attorney general. So the two week requirement effectively excludes the public from the process…at least with the commissioner who directly represents him/her.
Since these are infrastructure decisions that could affect communities for a hundred years or more, is it wise to rush them? The language in the proposed amendment reads like a sharp elbow to the gut of commissioners. It basically says, “If you can’t do your job, get out of the way. The Engineering Department will do it for you.”
Gee, what if the commissioner’s staff member is on vacation?
9/11/2026 – The Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force (CFRTF) has passed a resolution opposing the 5300+ acre proposed Scarborough/San Jacinto Preserve development near the confluence of the San Jacinto West Fork with Spring, Cypress and Turkey Creeks.
In doing so, it joins Harris County Commissioners Court and the Houston City Council which passed unanimous resolutions opposing the development. More than 9,300 residents of Harris and Montgomery Counties have also signed a Change.org petition opposing it.
Below is the text of the resolution. I have redacted the officers’ signatures to protect their privacy.
Text of Resolution
RESOLUTION BY THE COMMUNITY FLOOD RESILIENCE TASK FORCE OPPOSING PROPOSED SCARBOROUGH DEVELOPMENT (“SAN JACINTO PRESERVE”)
The Community Flood Resilience Task Force (CFRTF) was established by Harris County Commissioners Court to serve in an advisory capacity on flood resilience planning that accounts for community needs and priorities, including flood risk that originates upstream of the county line. Consistent with that mission, the CFRTF adopts the following position regarding the proposed Scarborough development, known as the ‘San Jacinto Preserve.’
The CFRTF shares the conclusion Houston City Council reached in its December 17, 2025 resolution: that catastrophic flooding renders this property unfit for residential development, and its highest and best use would instead be for flood mtigation and as a public park. The CFRTF opposes residential development of this property and supports its preservation as open space.
The proposed development would place approximately 5,300 acres, at the confluence of Spring Creek, Cypress Creek, Turkey Creek, and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, west of Kingwood, into residential use. This property consists predominantly of active floodways, floodplains, and wetlands that currently function as a natural sponge, slowing and absorbing stormwater while filtering the water that ultimately flows into Lake Houston. Clearing and filling these wetlands to elevate the property for development would increase the speed and volume of stormwater runoff, placing downstream communities at greater risk of flooding, while undermining regional flood mitigation efforts already underway.
Beyond flood risk, this property sits within one of the most environmentally sensitive parts of the Lake Houston watershed, which serves as the primary drinking water source for approximately 2.4 million people across the Greater Houston area. Development of this tract therefore raises concerns not only for downstream flooding, but also for the water quality relied upon by a substantial share of the region’s population.
The CFRTF believes this property is better preserved as natural floodplain and green space than developed for residential use, given the severity of flood risk in this watershed and the role this land plays in protecting downstream communities and drinking water quality.
ADOPTED on August 28, 2026, by the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force.
(Signed) Dr. Pamela Hernandez, Chair
Mary Anne Piacentini, Vice Chair
Chris Valdez, Secretary
For a PDF of the full document on letterhead, but with signatures redacted for privacy reasons, click here.
About the CFRTF
The Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force consists of ordinary citizens who represent communities and watersheds across Harris County. The 17 volunteer members are flood survivors, community organizers, engineers, advocates, and technical experts, working together to reduce flood risk for all Harris County communities.
Location of proposed development outlined in screen capture from FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Cross-hatch = floodway. Aqua = 100 year floodplain. Brown = 500 year floodplain. Note: this is a pre-Atlas 14 flood map. Montgomery County has not yet updated its flood maps.
To learn more, go to the search bar of ReduceFlooding.com and search on Scarborough or Ryko (the previous owner of this land).
And I highly recommend this post that contains an original song, Scarborough Bottom.
Please sign the petition today and forward this post to all your friends and family. Help put the petition over 10,000 signatures.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/11/2026
3300 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250417-Ryko-property-copy-1.jpg?fit=1100%2C659&ssl=16591100adminadmin2026-09-11 17:33:112026-09-11 18:02:53Harris County Flood Resilience Task Force Opposes Scarborough Development
How Many Storms Caused Significant Houston Flooding Since Ike?
9/13/2026 – Today is the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Ike, whose eye passed directly over Kingwood.
It got me wondering. How many storms have caused significant flooding somewhere in the seven-county Houston/Galveston Region since 2008? Short answer – 24, including 14 tropical and 10 non-tropical. For details and implications, read on.
Caveats on Search
ChatGPT helped. It reviewed a dozen websites, including the National Weather Service, NOAA, FEMA, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), and news sites such as ReduceFlooding, ABC13, Click2Houston, Houston Chronicle, and Rice University’s Baker Institute.
The tropical category had a clear threshold, but non-tropical events were more judgment-dependent. If you included every storm known to have flooded at least a few homes, the count would rise. But 10 is defensible if the threshold is “significant flood damage.”
Tropical Events Affecting Houston Region Since 2008
Of the 14 tropical events, five were especially consequential: Ike, Harvey, Imelda, Nicholas, and Beryl. See the entire list below.
Non-Tropical Events Affecting Houston Region Since 2008
Significant non-tropical events included:
Key Conclusions
The central takeaway: Houston’s flooding is not solely a hurricane problem. It is a a heavy rainfall and drainage problem that hurricanes sometimes magnify.
A few other conclusions stand out:
What the Region Needs
The region needs coordinated watershed governance, conservative development standards, adequate detention, drainage maintenance, updated rainfall assumptions, floodplain preservation, warning systems and projects designed around cumulative river basin behavior.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/13/2026
3302 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 18 years since Ike
MoCo Changing Drainage, Subdivision Rules
9/12/26 – On 9./18/26, Montgomery County (MoCo) Commissioners Court will consider changes to its Drainage Criteria and Development Regulations. See Item 12A on the agenda.
Just last year, Montgomery County adopted a new drainage criteria manual. It was the first major update in decades. The new manual was first proposed in early 2024. That followed a minor update in 2019 from the county’s old 1988 drainage criteria manual in effect at the time of Harvey.
It adopted many, but not all of the minimum drainage criteria proposed by Harris County for other counties draining into Harris. MoCo allows fill in the 500-year floodplain, but Harris doesn’t. And Harris requires homes to be built at the 500-year flood elevation, whereas MoCo requires only the 100-year.
Proposed Drainage Criteria Changes
Here are the MoCo drainage criteria adopted in 2025. And here are the changes proposed for 2026. The changes are summarized on the first two pages.
The changes seem predominantly focused on:
By and large, these changes seem focused on clarifying the County’s requirements so that developers and the County’s Engineering Department can minimize “back-and-forth” changes/requests.
Amendment to Development Regulations
MoCo will also discuss changing its development regulations by adding a fourteen (14) calendar day response period for written acknowledgment from Commissioners’ offices.
MoCo regulations require developers to submit plans to commissioners before submitting them to the engineering department for final approval.
On the plus side, the amendment will help ensure timely processing and improve government efficiency.
But this change also comes with a potential downside, in my opinion. Two weeks doesn’t allow much time for public input or protest. It usually takes that long to get copies of documents via FOIA or Public Information Requests, assuming the requests don’t get appealed to the attorney general. So the two week requirement effectively excludes the public from the process…at least with the commissioner who directly represents him/her.
Since these are infrastructure decisions that could affect communities for a hundred years or more, is it wise to rush them? The language in the proposed amendment reads like a sharp elbow to the gut of commissioners. It basically says, “If you can’t do your job, get out of the way. The Engineering Department will do it for you.”
Gee, what if the commissioner’s staff member is on vacation?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/12/2026
3201 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Harris County Flood Resilience Task Force Opposes Scarborough Development
9/11/2026 – The Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force (CFRTF) has passed a resolution opposing the 5300+ acre proposed Scarborough/San Jacinto Preserve development near the confluence of the San Jacinto West Fork with Spring, Cypress and Turkey Creeks.
In doing so, it joins Harris County Commissioners Court and the Houston City Council which passed unanimous resolutions opposing the development. More than 9,300 residents of Harris and Montgomery Counties have also signed a Change.org petition opposing it.
Below is the text of the resolution. I have redacted the officers’ signatures to protect their privacy.
Text of Resolution
RESOLUTION BY THE COMMUNITY FLOOD RESILIENCE TASK FORCE OPPOSING PROPOSED SCARBOROUGH DEVELOPMENT (“SAN JACINTO PRESERVE”)
The Community Flood Resilience Task Force (CFRTF) was established by Harris County Commissioners Court to serve in an advisory capacity on flood resilience planning that accounts for community needs and priorities, including flood risk that originates upstream of the county line. Consistent with that mission, the CFRTF adopts the following position regarding the proposed Scarborough development, known as the ‘San Jacinto Preserve.’
The CFRTF shares the conclusion Houston City Council reached in its December 17, 2025 resolution: that catastrophic flooding renders this property unfit for residential development, and its highest and best use would instead be for flood mtigation and as a public park. The CFRTF opposes residential development of this property and supports its preservation as open space.
The proposed development would place approximately 5,300 acres, at the confluence of Spring Creek, Cypress Creek, Turkey Creek, and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, west of Kingwood, into residential use. This property consists predominantly of active floodways, floodplains, and wetlands that currently function as a natural sponge, slowing and absorbing stormwater while filtering the water that ultimately flows into Lake Houston. Clearing and filling these wetlands to elevate the property for development would increase the speed and volume of stormwater runoff, placing downstream communities at greater risk of flooding, while undermining regional flood mitigation efforts already underway.
Beyond flood risk, this property sits within one of the most environmentally sensitive parts of the Lake Houston watershed, which serves as the primary drinking water source for approximately 2.4 million people across the Greater Houston area. Development of this tract therefore raises concerns not only for downstream flooding, but also for the water quality relied upon by a substantial share of the region’s population.
The CFRTF believes this property is better preserved as natural floodplain and green space than developed for residential use, given the severity of flood risk in this watershed and the role this land plays in protecting downstream communities and drinking water quality.
ADOPTED on August 28, 2026, by the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force.
(Signed) Dr. Pamela Hernandez, Chair
Mary Anne Piacentini, Vice Chair
Chris Valdez, Secretary
For a PDF of the full document on letterhead, but with signatures redacted for privacy reasons, click here.
About the CFRTF
The Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force consists of ordinary citizens who represent communities and watersheds across Harris County. The 17 volunteer members are flood survivors, community organizers, engineers, advocates, and technical experts, working together to reduce flood risk for all Harris County communities.
Add Your Name to the Change.Org Petition
Please add your name to the Change.org petition and help protect your community by clicking here.
Location of proposed development outlined in screen capture from FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Cross-hatch = floodway. Aqua = 100 year floodplain. Brown = 500 year floodplain. Note: this is a pre-Atlas 14 flood map. Montgomery County has not yet updated its flood maps.
To learn more, go to the search bar of ReduceFlooding.com and search on Scarborough or Ryko (the previous owner of this land).
And I highly recommend this post that contains an original song, Scarborough Bottom.
Please sign the petition today and forward this post to all your friends and family. Help put the petition over 10,000 signatures.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/11/2026
3300 Days since Hurricane Harvey