A strong line of thunderstorms with high winds, torrential rains and possible tornadoes swept through the Lake Houston area this afternoon. It left widespread power outages, snarled traffic, flooded streets, and swollen creeks and ditches. People still suffering PTSD from Harvey were re-traumatized by the sound of news helicopters and water creeping up their front steps. More heavy rains tonight will add to the area’s woes, even as people are still cleaning up from this afternoon’s flooding.
Examples of Damage Reported
Among the damage reported:
Several flooded homes in Bear Branch and Woodland Hills near creeks or ditches
Flooded locker rooms at Kingwood High School
Trees down and blocking Kingwood Drive at rush hour
Power lines down on Kingwood Drive
Knee-high water on Kingwood Drive at Town Center
Kingwood Drive traffic rerouted up Valley Manor
New pad sites for the retail expansion of the HEB center under water
Street flooding from one end of Kingwood to the other
Streets Designed as Part of Flood Retention System
Note: the streets in Kingwood are DESIGNED as part of the flood retention system. When rainfall rates exceed what creeks, ditches and bayous can handle, water backs up into streets. and drainage swales.
The amount of rain we received today was not great. But the intensity was off the charts. In about a half hour at my house, we received almost two inches. That’s between 3 and 4 inches per hour. Here’s an example: the swale beside my house.
Valley Manor just north of Kingwood Drive at 4PM on 5.3.19. Two neighbors across the street reports water on their front steps. One said water started to come through her front door. The family is still repairing from Harvey. Her entire family is traumatized.This is the ditch adjacent to the retail expansion of the H-E-B center. Photo courtesy of Mark Micheletti.Kingwood Drive west of Town Center. Photo courtesy of Clay Crawford.Kingwood Drive at Town Center.Photo courtesy of Clay Crawford.I heard that the entrance to Fosters Mill was also under water.Video of street in Riverchase by John Knoerzer.
Rainfall Totals for Friday Storm
Rainfall totals for last 24 hours as of 10PM 5.3.19. Note higher totals upstream from Lake Houston area.
River Report: Minor Flooding Possible on West Fork
Harris County Flood Warning System’s Real Time Inundation Mapping shows most streams within their banks. But note the warning for Humble at US59. While the river is 2 feet below the top of bank as of 10PM, it could easily go out of bank tonight.
More Storms on Way
As of 9PM a severe thunderstorm watch is still in effect for much of southeast Texas until 3PM Saturday..A large line of strong to severe thunderstorms has developed from E of Austin to NW of San Antonio and is moving ESE/SE at 15-20mph. Expect an average 1-2 inches with the line passage. Isolated total up to 3 inches be common. Creeks and bayous should be able to handle that amount of rainfall, according to Jeff Lindner of Harris County Flood Control.
NOAA forecast clearly shows the line of strong thunderstorms that should hit us overnight.
Here is an updated radar image as of 12:01 AM Saturday morning.
Image courtesy of RadarScope, an amazing app!
Expect minor flooding at 59 and River Grove Park, that could be exacerbated by the mouth bar and other sediment still in the river.
This does not account for any local effects to the mouth bar.
Hoping you stay dry!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/3/19 around midnight
613 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KWD-TC.jpg?fit=1500%2C1125&ssl=111251500adminadmin2019-05-03 23:19:552019-05-04 00:47:07Overnight Rains Could Add to This Afternoon’s Woes
Jeff Lindner, Director of Hydrologic Operations and Division Meterologist for Harris County Flood Control, just issued this warning”
“Multiple rounds of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and some severe weather likely today into tonight.”
“Large cluster of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall extends from near Sealy to College Station and is moving eastward and will overspread much of the region N of I-10 over the next several hours. A second…powerful…bow echo with 70-80mph is rapidly approaching Corpus Christi and the coastal bend and may impact the Matagorda Bay area later this morning.”
“Active pattern will remain in place as several disturbances and a weak cold front move across the area today and tonight and into Saturday. Rounds of thunderstorms will produce heavy rainfall and isolated severe weather. Main severe threats today will be mainly west of I-45 and some of the storms this morning over south-central TX have shown some weak rotation.”
“Expect the current round of storms to move across the area between now and 1-2pm followed by a brief break and then another…potentially stronger round this evening into the overnight period.”
“Rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches will be possible today into early Saturday with isolated higher totals. In fact some of the higher resolution models are showing isolated amounts up to 4-5 inches under training bands today and tonight. Air mass is certainly moist and will be able to support some 1-2 inch per hour rainfall rates which will lead to street flooding.”
River Forecast
“Area rivers are responding to the recent heavy rainfall and will remain elevated and in flood (Trinity). Additional rains today and tonight and then again next week will only increase rises. The area river and hydro situation is starting to become worrisome given the potential for this pattern to maintain for the next 1-2 weeks.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on April 3, 2019
612 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2019-05-03 09:41:282019-05-03 09:41:53Possible Street Flooding Today
I visited Placement Area 1 this morning . Muck was shooting out of the “diffuser pipe” at 470 cubic yards per hour. That’s enough to fill up 47 dump trucks every hour! A truly impressive sight. So I grabbed my Nikon D5 and started clicking. Only after downloading the images did I realize that I had the shutter set to 1/8000th of a second.
Liquid Looks Like Glass at 1/8000th
Normally, when shooting flowing water, you want to use shutter speeds in the range of 1/8th to 1/60th of a second. Slower speeds blur the liquid and create a sense of motion. The faster speed, however, froze the motion and made the liquid look like glass.
In photography, sometimes mistakes make the shot. This may have been one of those times. As I stared at the effluent, I became transfixed by the thousands of bursting bubbles within it. You can also see how the further the “spray” gets from the pipe, the bursting bubbles begin to reform into smaller droplets.
Effect of Diffusion Pipe
Dredgers call this a diffusion pipe because of those rings on the end of it. They allow the dredger to control the spread of the effluent. By adjusting the spread, they can make it shoot out far like a fire hose or spread out wide.
In this case, they had it set to “wide” so that it would be more controllable.
Diffuser pipe at Placement Area #1 shooting out effluent at 470 cubic yards per minute. Shot with a Nikon D5 at 1/8000th of a second.A slightly wider shot shows sand piling up. All the water in the effluent finds its way back into the river after sediment drops out of suspension and it is filtered by gravity.This shot shows three separate activities: a) the pit being filled, b) an excavator moving sand out of the flow, and c) loading a sand truck which will haul it away.
Now Selling Sand from Placement Area #1
A worker told me that early last week, the pit owner started selling sand from the site to an asphalt company. At the present rate, they are hauling it away about half as fast as the pit is being filled. This will help create extra storage area in the pit should the US Army Corps of Engineers choose to use it for the next phase of dredging – the mouth bar.
Max Flow Rates
As impressive as this flow is, I’m told it can go even higher – up to about 1,000 cubic yards per hour. The rate depends on factors such as the density and hardness of the spoils, as well as the distance they are pumped.
Details Still Being Worked Out on Mouth Bar
Still no official word yet on details of Phase 2 – the mouth bar project. The Corps is still evaluating placement areas. It could be that they need to permit more than one to contain the entire mouth bar. However, they also need to move quickly to make sure the dredgers don’t move on to another job.
Because of the lengthy amount of time permitting a placement area can take, the Corps may try to buy time by directing spoils to one or both of the current placement areas which are already permitted.
The more sand that pit owners can sell, the more capacity they will have, and the faster phase two of West Fork dredging can start.
FEMA will not pay to remove the entire mouth bar. FEMA has been working with the Corps and the City of Houston to determine how much of the mouth bar was due to Harvey. By statute, that’s all FEMA can pay to remove.
Variables Complicate Decisions
The City, State and Harris County will have to pay to remove the rest. That’s part of the contingency planning at this point. No details have yet been released about how all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle will fit together.
Planners are now trying to optimize for at least ten variables that I have heard discussed.
Volume due to Harvey
Time required to dredge it
Available storage in existing placement areas
Additional cost to move it to those placement areas (pipe, booster pumps, fuel, etc.)
Productivity loss due to additional distance from mouth bar
Cost versus amount funded by FEMA
Placement areas and cost for any volume FEMA does not fund
Time required to permit new placement area(s)
Where money will come from to cover what FEMA does not cover
When additional funds will be available
Not simple! We can only wish that they could make the decision in 1/8000th of a second.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/2019
611 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PA1-5.2.19-CU_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C1007&ssl=110071500adminadmin2019-05-02 16:44:452019-05-02 16:47:37What 470 Cubic Yards of Muck Per Hour Looks Like at 1/8000th of a Second
Overnight Rains Could Add to This Afternoon’s Woes
A strong line of thunderstorms with high winds, torrential rains and possible tornadoes swept through the Lake Houston area this afternoon. It left widespread power outages, snarled traffic, flooded streets, and swollen creeks and ditches. People still suffering PTSD from Harvey were re-traumatized by the sound of news helicopters and water creeping up their front steps. More heavy rains tonight will add to the area’s woes, even as people are still cleaning up from this afternoon’s flooding.
Examples of Damage Reported
Among the damage reported:
Streets Designed as Part of Flood Retention System
Note: the streets in Kingwood are DESIGNED as part of the flood retention system. When rainfall rates exceed what creeks, ditches and bayous can handle, water backs up into streets. and drainage swales.
The amount of rain we received today was not great. But the intensity was off the charts. In about a half hour at my house, we received almost two inches. That’s between 3 and 4 inches per hour. Here’s an example: the swale beside my house.
Rainfall Totals for Friday Storm
River Report: Minor Flooding Possible on West Fork
More Storms on Way
As of 9PM a severe thunderstorm watch is still in effect for much of southeast Texas until 3PM Saturday.. A large line of strong to severe thunderstorms has developed from E of Austin to NW of San Antonio and is moving ESE/SE at 15-20mph. Expect an average 1-2 inches with the line passage. Isolated total up to 3 inches be common. Creeks and bayous should be able to handle that amount of rainfall, according to Jeff Lindner of Harris County Flood Control.
Here is an updated radar image as of 12:01 AM Saturday morning.
Expect minor flooding at 59 and River Grove Park, that could be exacerbated by the mouth bar and other sediment still in the river.
Hoping you stay dry!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/3/19 around midnight
613 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Possible Street Flooding Today
Jeff Lindner, Director of Hydrologic Operations and Division Meterologist for Harris County Flood Control, just issued this warning”
“Multiple rounds of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and some severe weather likely today into tonight.”
“Large cluster of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall extends from near Sealy to College Station and is moving eastward and will overspread much of the region N of I-10 over the next several hours. A second…powerful…bow echo with 70-80mph is rapidly approaching Corpus Christi and the coastal bend and may impact the Matagorda Bay area later this morning.”
“Active pattern will remain in place as several disturbances and a weak cold front move across the area today and tonight and into Saturday. Rounds of thunderstorms will produce heavy rainfall and isolated severe weather. Main severe threats today will be mainly west of I-45 and some of the storms this morning over south-central TX have shown some weak rotation.”
“Expect the current round of storms to move across the area between now and 1-2pm followed by a brief break and then another…potentially stronger round this evening into the overnight period.”
River Forecast
“Area rivers are responding to the recent heavy rainfall and will remain elevated and in flood (Trinity). Additional rains today and tonight and then again next week will only increase rises. The area river and hydro situation is starting to become worrisome given the potential for this pattern to maintain for the next 1-2 weeks.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on April 3, 2019
612 Days since Hurricane Harvey
What 470 Cubic Yards of Muck Per Hour Looks Like at 1/8000th of a Second
I visited Placement Area 1 this morning . Muck was shooting out of the “diffuser pipe” at 470 cubic yards per hour. That’s enough to fill up 47 dump trucks every hour! A truly impressive sight. So I grabbed my Nikon D5 and started clicking. Only after downloading the images did I realize that I had the shutter set to 1/8000th of a second.
Liquid Looks Like Glass at 1/8000th
Normally, when shooting flowing water, you want to use shutter speeds in the range of 1/8th to 1/60th of a second. Slower speeds blur the liquid and create a sense of motion. The faster speed, however, froze the motion and made the liquid look like glass.
In photography, sometimes mistakes make the shot. This may have been one of those times. As I stared at the effluent, I became transfixed by the thousands of bursting bubbles within it. You can also see how the further the “spray” gets from the pipe, the bursting bubbles begin to reform into smaller droplets.
Effect of Diffusion Pipe
Dredgers call this a diffusion pipe because of those rings on the end of it. They allow the dredger to control the spread of the effluent. By adjusting the spread, they can make it shoot out far like a fire hose or spread out wide.
In this case, they had it set to “wide” so that it would be more controllable.
Now Selling Sand from Placement Area #1
A worker told me that early last week, the pit owner started selling sand from the site to an asphalt company. At the present rate, they are hauling it away about half as fast as the pit is being filled. This will help create extra storage area in the pit should the US Army Corps of Engineers choose to use it for the next phase of dredging – the mouth bar.
Max Flow Rates
As impressive as this flow is, I’m told it can go even higher – up to about 1,000 cubic yards per hour. The rate depends on factors such as the density and hardness of the spoils, as well as the distance they are pumped.
Details Still Being Worked Out on Mouth Bar
Still no official word yet on details of Phase 2 – the mouth bar project. The Corps is still evaluating placement areas. It could be that they need to permit more than one to contain the entire mouth bar. However, they also need to move quickly to make sure the dredgers don’t move on to another job.
Because of the lengthy amount of time permitting a placement area can take, the Corps may try to buy time by directing spoils to one or both of the current placement areas which are already permitted.
The more sand that pit owners can sell, the more capacity they will have, and the faster phase two of West Fork dredging can start.
FEMA will not pay to remove the entire mouth bar. FEMA has been working with the Corps and the City of Houston to determine how much of the mouth bar was due to Harvey. By statute, that’s all FEMA can pay to remove.
Variables Complicate Decisions
The City, State and Harris County will have to pay to remove the rest. That’s part of the contingency planning at this point. No details have yet been released about how all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle will fit together.
Planners are now trying to optimize for at least ten variables that I have heard discussed.
Not simple! We can only wish that they could make the decision in 1/8000th of a second.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/2019
611 Days since Hurricane Harvey