After killing more than 100 people in Central America, Eta made landfall across the Florida Keys overnight and has now moved west into the SE Gulf of Mexico. Numerous curved bands continue to rotate into southern Florida where more than 13 inches of rainfall has been recorded. Eta is the 12 landfalling tropical system on the US coast this season…the previous record was 9 in 1916.
This morning’s satellite image shows the eye of Eta visible in yesterday’s images has collapsed.
Meanwhile, two more storms are brewing in the Atlantic. One is heading away from land. The other, which has a 50% chance of formation in the next five days is moving into the central Caribbean.
Discussion of Eta
Eta’s made landfall on the middle Florida Keys late yesterday evening and has continued westward across Florida Bay and is now over the SE Gulf of Mexico. Eta has maintained well-defined circulation. The wind field has also expanded with tropical storm force winds extending well away from the center and well north along the Florida coast.
The official forecast from the NHC takes Eta toward north Florida, but much divergence remains among the models.
ETA’s Track
Eta will move west to WSW for the next 24 hours, then meander over the SE/E Gulf of Mexico into the middle of the week. The storm could stall over the warm waters of the Gulf loop current. But by later this week, a strong upper-level trough should turn Eta north and then northeast back toward Florida. However, forecast models vary widely. Confidence is low regarding the track forecast. Large changes remain possible. Little consensus exists between weather models.
The South Florida Water Management District shows even less consensus.
Eta’s Intensity
Even though Eta is moving over warm waters, wind sheer and surrounding dry air should keep it in check. The official forecast brings Eta to a minimal hurricane over the SE Gulf of Mexico before weakening again late in the week.
Other Storms
Two other areas of interest have developed in the Atlantic basin and 97L over the eastern Atlantic has a high chance of developing into a tropical system while the tropical wave approaching the Caribbean has a medium chance of developing later this week. The next tropical storm will break the previous record for the most tropical storms in an Atlantic hurricane season.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/29L_tracks_latest.png?fit=768%2C800&ssl=1800768adminadmin2020-11-09 11:10:152020-11-09 11:15:53Eta Slimes Florida With Foot of Rain So Far, Sets New Record, More Storms May Follow
When last I checked on the status of Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village project in Montgomery County north of Elm Grove, contractors were still putting the finishing touches on detention ponds. Since then, Perry has:
Erected chain-link fencing with barbed wire around the perimeter
Planted some grass to stabilize the soil
Removed all construction equipment from the site.
More Than a Year After Imelda, Still No Deal
Perry is waiting to see if Harris County and the City will be able to finalize a deal to purchase the site and turn it into a regional detention basin. The three sides have been talking for more than a year. The project twice contributed to flooding Elm Grove last year after Perry cleared the land but before they built all of the required detention capacity.
Now that they’re finished though, they still have only 60% of what they need. That’s because the company rushed to get the project permitted before new, higher Atlas-14 regulations went into effect.
In February this year, the City declined to consider purchasing Woodridge Village. The City said it was the County’s responsibility because voters passed a flood bond, even though the City had approved Perry’s plans even before LJA’s drainage analysis had been submitted.
In the meantime, Perry Homes hinted to Elm Grove leaders that, “It sure would be nice if all those lawsuits went away.” Perry Homes also still has a “For Sale” sign up on the property, although the listing company does not show the property on their website.
Entrance to Woodridge Village from Woodland Hills.
This all reminds me of a line from one of my favorite movies. “Once the plan gets too complex, everything can go wrong.”
Walter Sobchak in Big Lebowski
At this rate, the 60% solution may stay the 60% solution for a long time. Certainly, the lawsuits show no sign of going away any time soon. The Harris County District Clerk’s website (see CAUSE NO. 2019-33415) has seen a flurry of filings in recent months.
Current Pics
Here’s how the site looks today.
Looking east over S1 towards S2, the two detention ponds on the southern border of Woodridge Village.Looking north along the eastern border toward N3, the third pond on the northern section.Where the northeastern portion of the site drains into the head of N3. Note security fence around perimeter.Looking south along N3 toward Taylor Gully in the background.Looking east along the northern border toward Ford Road in Porter.Looking west along the northern borderLooking southwest across the northern portion of Woodridge Village, with N3 on the left.N1, the first detention pond on the northern section of Woodridge VillageThe massive N2 pond along the southwestern border of the northern section.
One of the most beautiful parts of Kingwood also helps protect the area from flooding: East End Park. If you’ve never seen it, you should. The park comprises 158 acres and contains about five miles of nature trails. With the help of boardwalks, the trails wind through wetlands that form the perimeter of the park.
Those wetlands help slow runoff during storms. And the park itself puts distance and elevation between the East Fork of the San Jacinto and the nearest homes.
Park Almost Became Another Subdivision During 1980s
The park was not always destined to become a park. Originally Friendswood Development wanted to build another subdivision where the park is now. As Friendswood cut streets in nearby Kings Point, they dumped the extra dirt in what is now the park’s giant meadow. That’s why it’s so much higher than surrounding wetlands.
These meadows comprise approximately 45 acres of tall grass, an abundant food source for migrating birds.Looking south. The East Fork San Jacinto is on the left. Sand damage from Harvey and Imelda at Eagle Point is in the foreground.Birdhouses once 10-feet up on trees are now at ankle height.Looking west from the north side of the park on the left. The East Fork (out of frame to the right) and Caney Creek converge at East End Park’s Eagle Point.Also to the right is the 5000-acre Lake Houston Nature Park.Looking south again. The East Fork on the left empties into Lake Houston in background. Trails border the river within the trees.
But in 1988, the EPA issued a cease and desist order because they were jeopardizing the wetlands. Blocked from further development, Friendswood tried to turn a problem into an amenity that could add value to homebuyers. The company donated the land to the Kingwood Service Association to own and operate as a park for the benefit of all Kingwood residents.
Development as Nature Park in 2000s
Not much happened with the park for about a decade. Then KSA, with the help of volunteer groups, like the Boy Scouts, started building a small trail network, mostly on the north side of the park.
Around 2000, KSA debated the future of the remainder of the park. Should they turn it into more sports fields? Or keep it a nature park? The nature park faction won out. And for the next fifteen years, KSA slowly built new trails and improved old ones as money became available.
Birder’s Wonderland
The Lake Houston Nature Club has documented approximately 150 species of birds in the park, some threatened or endangered. In season, birders seem everywhere. Migrating birds munch on the abundant tall grass which seems to go to seed just in time for the migration.
In the park, I’ve spotted everything from painted buntings to majestic bald eagles. In fact, part of the park is named Eagle Point because of the frequent eagle sightings there.
Healing Power of Nature
Shortly after KSA put in the Eagle Point Trail, I encountered a man sitting in the same place on the river bank day after day. I asked him what his attraction was to that particular place. He said that it helped him heal. I asked if he wanted to explain that. He said he was undergoing treatment for cancer and the the beauty gave him the will to go on living. I suspect he’s not the only one who has found sustenance in nature there.
One often sees families walking with young children there. I also suspect kids learn to translate the love they feel from parents on such walks into a lifelong love of nature.
Living Lessons
Sadly both Harvey and Imelda completely inundated the park. Eagle Point became covered with 10-15 feet of sand which killed many of the trees there and filled in some of the wetlands. Regardless, the park remains a natural gem and a living lesson about the cycles of nature.
The pictures below show some of the natural beauty. To get to the park, take Kingwood Drive east until you run out of road. You can see the park entrance from the parking lot.
East End Park poster.
Sunrise over Lake Houston from Kingwood’s East End Park at Otter Point. By Dr. Charles Campbell.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/8/2020
1168 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 416 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201023-DJI_0896-copy.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-11-07 19:26:012020-11-08 10:40:39East End Park from the Air: A Wetlands Success Story
Eta Slimes Florida With Foot of Rain So Far, Sets New Record, More Storms May Follow
After killing more than 100 people in Central America, Eta made landfall across the Florida Keys overnight and has now moved west into the SE Gulf of Mexico. Numerous curved bands continue to rotate into southern Florida where more than 13 inches of rainfall has been recorded. Eta is the 12 landfalling tropical system on the US coast this season…the previous record was 9 in 1916.
Meanwhile, two more storms are brewing in the Atlantic. One is heading away from land. The other, which has a 50% chance of formation in the next five days is moving into the central Caribbean.
Discussion of Eta
Eta’s made landfall on the middle Florida Keys late yesterday evening and has continued westward across Florida Bay and is now over the SE Gulf of Mexico. Eta has maintained well-defined circulation. The wind field has also expanded with tropical storm force winds extending well away from the center and well north along the Florida coast.
ETA’s Track
Eta will move west to WSW for the next 24 hours, then meander over the SE/E Gulf of Mexico into the middle of the week. The storm could stall over the warm waters of the Gulf loop current. But by later this week, a strong upper-level trough should turn Eta north and then northeast back toward Florida. However, forecast models vary widely. Confidence is low regarding the track forecast. Large changes remain possible. Little consensus exists between weather models.
Eta’s Intensity
Even though Eta is moving over warm waters, wind sheer and surrounding dry air should keep it in check. The official forecast brings Eta to a minimal hurricane over the SE Gulf of Mexico before weakening again late in the week.
Other Storms
Two other areas of interest have developed in the Atlantic basin and 97L over the eastern Atlantic has a high chance of developing into a tropical system while the tropical wave approaching the Caribbean has a medium chance of developing later this week. The next tropical storm will break the previous record for the most tropical storms in an Atlantic hurricane season.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/9/2020
1168 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Woodridge Village: Perry Homes’ 60 Percent Solution Now Complete
When last I checked on the status of Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village project in Montgomery County north of Elm Grove, contractors were still putting the finishing touches on detention ponds. Since then, Perry has:
More Than a Year After Imelda, Still No Deal
Perry is waiting to see if Harris County and the City will be able to finalize a deal to purchase the site and turn it into a regional detention basin. The three sides have been talking for more than a year. The project twice contributed to flooding Elm Grove last year after Perry cleared the land but before they built all of the required detention capacity.
In February this year, the City declined to consider purchasing Woodridge Village. The City said it was the County’s responsibility because voters passed a flood bond, even though the City had approved Perry’s plans even before LJA’s drainage analysis had been submitted.
Harris County has subsequently tried to buy the land and build more detention capacity since April. But Precinct 1 Commission Rodney Ellis has heaped new conditions on the sale every time the sides seem close to reaching a deal. Commissioners finally voted to approve negotiation of an earnest money contract in September. But then, at the October 27 Commissioners Court Meeting, Ellis hinted that he now wants the City to apply his “equity” standards to its own flood mitigation projects. “I’m going to propose that they give us a recommendation or I’ll come up with one,“ he bragged. Or threatened.
In the meantime, Perry Homes hinted to Elm Grove leaders that, “It sure would be nice if all those lawsuits went away.” Perry Homes also still has a “For Sale” sign up on the property, although the listing company does not show the property on their website.
At this rate, the 60% solution may stay the 60% solution for a long time. Certainly, the lawsuits show no sign of going away any time soon. The Harris County District Clerk’s website (see CAUSE NO. 2019-33415) has seen a flurry of filings in recent months.
Current Pics
Here’s how the site looks today.
The detention ponds passed several minor tests last spring and summer, but have yet to see a major challenge.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/9/2020
1168 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 417 since Imelda
East End Park from the Air: A Wetlands Success Story
One of the most beautiful parts of Kingwood also helps protect the area from flooding: East End Park. If you’ve never seen it, you should. The park comprises 158 acres and contains about five miles of nature trails. With the help of boardwalks, the trails wind through wetlands that form the perimeter of the park.
Those wetlands help slow runoff during storms. And the park itself puts distance and elevation between the East Fork of the San Jacinto and the nearest homes.
Park Almost Became Another Subdivision During 1980s
The park was not always destined to become a park. Originally Friendswood Development wanted to build another subdivision where the park is now. As Friendswood cut streets in nearby Kings Point, they dumped the extra dirt in what is now the park’s giant meadow. That’s why it’s so much higher than surrounding wetlands.
But in 1988, the EPA issued a cease and desist order because they were jeopardizing the wetlands. Blocked from further development, Friendswood tried to turn a problem into an amenity that could add value to homebuyers. The company donated the land to the Kingwood Service Association to own and operate as a park for the benefit of all Kingwood residents.
Development as Nature Park in 2000s
Not much happened with the park for about a decade. Then KSA, with the help of volunteer groups, like the Boy Scouts, started building a small trail network, mostly on the north side of the park.
Around 2000, KSA debated the future of the remainder of the park. Should they turn it into more sports fields? Or keep it a nature park? The nature park faction won out. And for the next fifteen years, KSA slowly built new trails and improved old ones as money became available.
Birder’s Wonderland
The Lake Houston Nature Club has documented approximately 150 species of birds in the park, some threatened or endangered. In season, birders seem everywhere. Migrating birds munch on the abundant tall grass which seems to go to seed just in time for the migration.
In the park, I’ve spotted everything from painted buntings to majestic bald eagles. In fact, part of the park is named Eagle Point because of the frequent eagle sightings there.
Healing Power of Nature
Shortly after KSA put in the Eagle Point Trail, I encountered a man sitting in the same place on the river bank day after day. I asked him what his attraction was to that particular place. He said that it helped him heal. I asked if he wanted to explain that. He said he was undergoing treatment for cancer and the the beauty gave him the will to go on living. I suspect he’s not the only one who has found sustenance in nature there.
One often sees families walking with young children there. I also suspect kids learn to translate the love they feel from parents on such walks into a lifelong love of nature.
Living Lessons
Sadly both Harvey and Imelda completely inundated the park. Eagle Point became covered with 10-15 feet of sand which killed many of the trees there and filled in some of the wetlands. Regardless, the park remains a natural gem and a living lesson about the cycles of nature.
The pictures below show some of the natural beauty. To get to the park, take Kingwood Drive east until you run out of road. You can see the park entrance from the parking lot.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/8/2020
1168 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 416 since Imelda