8/30/25 – On the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, more than 400 residents crowded into the Kingwood Community Center to hear Congressman Dan Crenshaw talk. Unfortunately, a group of unruly agitators wouldn’t let the Congressman speak about flood mitigation to an audience whose lives had been upended by flooding.
They kept shouting questions about random, unrelated topics, such as lactation consulting. And before Crenshaw could answer one question, attackers would cut him off with another. Sometimes the attackers even stepped on each other.
It appeared as though the provocateurs were trying to get the police to eject them. That would have given them ammunition to slime Crenshaw further on social media.
The experience was an hour-long dystopian view of mob rule. Disruption, disturbance and disparagement replaced civilized discourse and debate. The volume of protesters’ voices drowned out Crenshaw’s attempts to illuminate issues.
That’s a real shame because he has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard. Crenshaw is smart. Plus…
He has a deep understanding of issues and a gift for explaining them in ways that help people find common ground.
Bob Rehak
Dan Crenshaw patiently addresses protesters at Kingwood town hall
Shouts Overpower Microphone
Even though Crenshaw had a microphone, I had trouble hearing him. So, for those who attended hoping to hear what Crenshaw has done for flood mitigation in the area, here is partial text of his remarks obtained later from his staff.
Crenshaw’s Remarks on Flood Mitigation
“Through my work in Washington, I’ve been able to pull down federal dollars to help our local communities here in Lake Houston.”
“As you probably know, earlier this year we finally wrapped up a project that I had advocated for since I took office. The complete restoration of Lake Houston to pre-Harvey conditions. To date, over $150 million of federal funds have been used to dredge Lake Houston. The last $30 plus million project was completed near the convergence of the East Fork, West Fork and the lake.”
“I look forward to seeing the City maintain the lake with the newly approved Lake Houston Dredging District. This project was a long-fought effort by Charles Cunningham, Fred Flickinger and Twila Carter. It was unfortunate that my opponent, Steve Toth, voted against helping this community.
“While the Lake Houston Dam is long overdue, I feel confident that we are on a good path and I am committed to expediting any federal permits required to get this project completed. For updates on the project, you should subscribe to Fred Flickinger’s newsletter.”
“Some other projects in the area that I secured Community Project Funding for are as follows:”
Purpose: The project aims to decrease flooding elevation within the San Jacinto watershed. It supplements funding obtained in previous years. [See below.]
Designed as a wet-bottom basin with a permanent pool of water and constructed with native wetland vegetation and features, this stormwater detention basin will function to treat and clean stormwater. The permanent pool of water will settle out solids, while the native vegetation will provide habitat for aquatic species that filter and clean stormwater.
FY24 Community Projects Signed into Law
Ford Road Improvement Project – $7 million
Purpose: This request will support Ford Road improvements from US 59 in Montgomery County to the Harris County line. The current road is undersized and serves as one of only three evacuation routes for the Kingwood area. Commissioner Gray is currently constructing this project.
Kingwood Diversion Channel – Walnut Lane Bridge Project- $4 million
Purpose: The project includesthe widening and reconstruction of Walnut Lane Bridge in Kingwood. This bridge, in its current configuration, will restrict flood flows unless widened to accommodate the future expansion of the Kingwood Diversion Channel currently being designed by the Harris County Flood Control District.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements Project-$1.75 million
Purpose: This project is designed to reduce flood risk in the Kingwood area. This project will create a detention basin and improve stormwater conveyance to minimize flood risks. Engineering studies show that completion of this project will result in substantial reductions in flooding along Taylor Gully. The studies show that this project will remove the 100-year floodplain from over 115 acres of flood area and from 276 structures.
FY23 Community Projects Signed into Law
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Project – $8 million
Purpose: This recently completed project reinforced the existing dam structure. The aging structure needed reinforcement and a project to replace this structure is underway. The dam gates will not be using this structure.
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $5 million
Purpose: The project involves creating a detention basin to alleviate flood risks in the Kingwood area. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district.
Harris County Municipal Utility District (HCMUD) 468 Stormwater Detention Basin Project-$2 million
Purpose: This project is for the excavation of a stormwater detention basin located in the Cypress Creek watershed. The Cypress Creek watershed is highly developed and has a lack of regional stormwater detention basins for flood mitigation. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district and provides upstream detention to Kingwood
FY22 Community Projects Signed Into Law
Kingwood Diversion Channel – $1.6 million
Purpose: The Kingwood Diversion Channel improvements are proposed to divert stormwater runoff from the Bens Branch channel to lower the risk of structural flooding along the portion of Bens Branch within the Kingwood area. This project will also provide capacity to allow for future local City of Houston neighborhood drainage improvements to outfall into the Kingwood Diversion Channel.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements – $1.6 million
This project will mitigate flooding on the north side of Kingwood.
TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $9.96 million
Purpose: This request is for TC Jester Detention Basin, which is a stormwater detention mitigation project within the Cypress Creek Watershed that is intended to address current flood damage reduction needs within the Cypress Creek Watershed. This project will provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Westador Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $8.85 million
Purpose: This project will also provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Each of these wins – border security funding, energy permitting, flood infrastructure – came from listening to our community and then acting decisively.
Crenshaw Deserves Even More Credit
Crenshaw didn’t say it, but the money he helped obtain for the Woodridge and Taylor Gully Projects also helped those projects qualify for $33 million dollars in CDBG-MIT grants. Harris County Flood Control District obtained those through the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250828-DSC_3186-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2025-08-30 18:16:032025-08-31 05:34:04Protesters Disrupt Crenshaw Town Hall in Kingwood on Harvey’s 8th Anniversary
8/29/25 – Eight years ago today, the Lake Houston Area woke up to the dawn of a disaster. During the previous day and night, the San Jacinto River rose 22 feet above flood stage at US59.
Looking S toward Humble at the US59 bridge under swollen West Fork San Jacinto
It swept several townhomes in Forest Cove off their foundations. And destroyed all the rest for blocks around.
Forest Cove Townhome destroyed by Harvey.
Rising floodwaters eventually claimed the lives of 15 people in the Kingwood area – 12 of them in a senior center more than a mile from the river.
Residents trying to escape Kingwood Village Estates as Harvey’s floodwaters rose
Harvey was not a single day event. It lasted the better part of a week. Different areas fell to its driving rains and howling winds at different times.
The Lake Houston Area bore the brunt of not only the storm, but water funneled downstream from an area 50% larger than Harris County itself.
Watershed Map of the San Jacinto River Basin
That included a massive 79,000 cubic feet per second from Lake Conroe, the largest release ever by the SJRA.
Where more than 400,000 Cubic Feet Per Second came from.
Before It Was All Over…
16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses in the Lake Houston Area flooded.
Multiply this times 16,000
Damage included 44% of all businesses in the Lake Houston Chamber and 100% of all businesses in Kingwood’s Town Center.
Harvey Flood in Kings Harbor. Photo by Sally Geis.
Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor. Thousands of students would be bussed to another high school for a year.
Kingwood High School during Harvey.
The flood also destroyed thousands of cars. The owners parked many of them on higher ground that they thought was safe.
Flood damaged cars hauled to a holding facility near Bush Intercontinental Airport
Displaced families shuffled from one safe haven to another as the floodwaters spread.
Sally Geis Harvey Rescue. From a condo near the river, she evacuated up West Lake Houston Parkway. Kingwood Town Center in background.
Neighborhoods turned into islands, like lily pads, as rising water cut off evacuation routes for those who waited too long.
Two and a quarter miles north of the West Fork, Carolanne Norris took this shot as she and her family hiked to safety on Valley Manor. Shot is looking back down Woods Estates.
Raging currents damaged the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge. They also wiped out the UnionPacific bridge which they had to completely rebuild.
Repair work underway on the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge that parallels US59.
Rushing floodwaters also destroyed the southbound US59 bridge.
US59 during Harvey. Photo by Melinda Ray.
TXDoT spent almost a year repairing the southbound lanes. Their supports were weakened by scouring.
Southbound lanes of I-69 bridge took almost a year to rebuild.
Grocery stores? Restaurants? Gone. People lived on Igloo cooler cuisine, potato chips and granola bars.
Whataburger in the new HEB shopping center during flooding from Hurricane Harvey.Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.Humble shopping area near US59 and Townsen
Communications? Knocked out.
Electricity? Gone. For days or weeks in some cases. Gas stations couldn’t pump gas. Forget about air conditioning. People gutted homes in sweltering heat.
Photo by Kendall Taft: “Two feet of sheetrock removal, with floors covered in drywall muck.” Atascocita Shores.
Mountains of discarded family treasures littered streets for weeks as looters pillaged the community.
Families lived in campers and RVs or with friends for months while restoring homes.
Home, Home on the Driveway! The Slaughter family lived in a trailer for almost 9 months as they gutted and restored their home.Slaughter’s House. Gutted to the studs.
Troubles Just Beginning
But the hardest part was still to come: understanding why all this destruction happened and determining what could be done to prevent it from happening again. And finally, organizing politically to build the solutions.
We would soon discover that as much as we were united by disaster, we were also divided by recovery. That would become the dawn of a another disaster. But more on that in a future post.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/29/25with thanks to the hundreds of people who have contributed pictures
2922 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Harvey-at-59-Bridge-IMG_3686-e1741129570215.jpeg?fit=1100%2C685&ssl=16851100adminadmin2025-08-29 15:36:232025-08-29 22:13:08Dawn of a Disaster: Harvey Remembered
8/28/25 – NOAA’s Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) just published its annual report. It includes new research findings on three key elements of tropical systems: a lengthening tropical season, stalling storms, and tropical cyclone size at landfall.
SCIPP publishes fascinating reports tailored to the south central region of the U.S. including Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The government/university partnership conducts research to understand climate hazard trends and patterns that are useful to decision makers. The information below is summarized from their annual report.
Tropical Season Lengthens 16 days
SCIPP analysis of Atlantic hurricane season length from 1970 to 2022 found that storms are forming increasingly earlier AND later in the season. In 1970, the first named storm formed around July 27th. However, by 2022, the date shifted to around May 31st. That represents an increase of season length of 11 days per decade … just on the front end.
On the back end, in 1970, the last named storm dissipated around October 24th. However, in 2022, the last storm dissipated around November 18th. This represents a roughly 5-day per decade shift, say the researchers.
“While improvements in observational practices raised some concerns about data quality,” they say, “our results suggest that the primary driver of season expansion is the earlier onset and prolonged persistence of favorable conditions for tropical cyclones, such as warm sea surface temperatures, elevated humidity, and reduced wind shear.”
The researchers recommend that the National Hurricane Center consider moving the start of hurricane season to May 15th to heighten awareness of these early season storms. They have presented their work widely within the scientific community. For more information, see Dr. Vincent Brown’s virtual presentation to the Inland Marine Underwriters Association.
Stalling Storms Increasing 1.5% Per Year
SCIPP researchers also found seasonality in stalling storms. Stalling is most common in October (17.3% of storms) and least common in August (8.2%).
Their analysis showed a significant increase in annual stalling frequency during the satellite era (1966–2020) at 1.5% per year.
They also found an increase in the proportion of stalling storms relative to all storms.
SCIPP 2024-2025 Annual Report
Stalling storms were also significantly more likely to reach major-hurricane intensity.
These findings have been presented to stakeholders, academic audiences, and emergency managers to help them better prepare for future stalling events in vulnerable regions.
“Size at Landfall” Increasing Later in Season
The third featured project was a database of tropical cyclone size at landfall.
Size at landfall is critical in determining the extent and severity of storm impacts.
SCIPP 2024-2025 Annual Report
Accurate size data allows emergency managers, planners, and policymakers to better estimate potential exposure, improve evacuation planning, allocate resources, and design infrastructure that accounts for the full spatial footprint of storms. Their database supports:
Enhanced risk assessments
Insurance modeling
Building codes
Long-term coastal planning.
The analysis found no statistically significant long-term change in size at landfall, However, it did find that:
Parts of the season—particularly September through November—exhibited larger landfall sizes compared to other months.
Average landfall size was comparable between the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast.
Size did not differ significantly across Category 1–4 storms.
Implications of the Three Studies
SCIPP says that collectively, these three studies highlight the “critical need to better understand tropical cyclone characteristics that directly affect coastal populations.”
The researchers hope to translate their scientific findings into actionable guidance for emergency management, infrastructure planning, and long-term community resilience.
The annual report also contains fascinating findings by leading academic institutions in the region on:
Hazard mitigation in areas without hazard mitigation planning capabilities
Heat stress and football-game kickoff times
Impacts of fiscal decentralization on Disaster Risk Reduction
Climate migration
Case studies
Workshop and intern opportunities
More
SCIPP’s theme is “Planning for Long-Term Change in a Short-Term World.” To learn more about their excellent work and conferences, or to sign up for their newsletters, visit SouthernClimate.org.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/28/2025
2921 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TS-Harvey-8-30-17-209.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=17681024adminadmin2025-08-28 19:29:022025-08-28 19:41:24SCIPP Research Sheds New Light on Key Elements of Tropical Systems
Protesters Disrupt Crenshaw Town Hall in Kingwood on Harvey’s 8th Anniversary
8/30/25 – On the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, more than 400 residents crowded into the Kingwood Community Center to hear Congressman Dan Crenshaw talk. Unfortunately, a group of unruly agitators wouldn’t let the Congressman speak about flood mitigation to an audience whose lives had been upended by flooding.
They kept shouting questions about random, unrelated topics, such as lactation consulting. And before Crenshaw could answer one question, attackers would cut him off with another. Sometimes the attackers even stepped on each other.
Check out this representative 50-second clip of the hour-long audio recording I made…from the FRONT row. Transcription was hopeless.
It appeared as though the provocateurs were trying to get the police to eject them. That would have given them ammunition to slime Crenshaw further on social media.
The experience was an hour-long dystopian view of mob rule. Disruption, disturbance and disparagement replaced civilized discourse and debate. The volume of protesters’ voices drowned out Crenshaw’s attempts to illuminate issues.
That’s a real shame because he has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard. Crenshaw is smart. Plus…
Shouts Overpower Microphone
Even though Crenshaw had a microphone, I had trouble hearing him. So, for those who attended hoping to hear what Crenshaw has done for flood mitigation in the area, here is partial text of his remarks obtained later from his staff.
Crenshaw’s Remarks on Flood Mitigation
“Through my work in Washington, I’ve been able to pull down federal dollars to help our local communities here in Lake Houston.”
“As you probably know, earlier this year we finally wrapped up a project that I had advocated for since I took office. The complete restoration of Lake Houston to pre-Harvey conditions. To date, over $150 million of federal funds have been used to dredge Lake Houston. The last $30 plus million project was completed near the convergence of the East Fork, West Fork and the lake.”
“I look forward to seeing the City maintain the lake with the newly approved Lake Houston Dredging District. This project was a long-fought effort by Charles Cunningham, Fred Flickinger and Twila Carter. It was unfortunate that my opponent, Steve Toth, voted against helping this community.
“While the Lake Houston Dam is long overdue, I feel confident that we are on a good path and I am committed to expediting any federal permits required to get this project completed. For updates on the project, you should subscribe to Fred Flickinger’s newsletter.”
“Some other projects in the area that I secured Community Project Funding for are as follows:”
FY26 Projects -Submitted but Not Yet Approved
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin – $ 1M (We asked for $3 million.)
Purpose: The project aims to decrease flooding elevation within the San Jacinto watershed. It supplements funding obtained in previous years. [See below.]
Designed as a wet-bottom basin with a permanent pool of water and constructed with native wetland vegetation and features, this stormwater detention basin will function to treat and clean stormwater. The permanent pool of water will settle out solids, while the native vegetation will provide habitat for aquatic species that filter and clean stormwater.
FY24 Community Projects Signed into Law
Ford Road Improvement Project – $7 million
Purpose: This request will support Ford Road improvements from US 59 in Montgomery County to the Harris County line. The current road is undersized and serves as one of only three evacuation routes for the Kingwood area. Commissioner Gray is currently constructing this project.
Kingwood Diversion Channel – Walnut Lane Bridge Project- $4 million
Purpose: The project includes the widening and reconstruction of Walnut Lane Bridge in Kingwood. This bridge, in its current configuration, will restrict flood flows unless widened to accommodate the future expansion of the Kingwood Diversion Channel currently being designed by the Harris County Flood Control District.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements Project-$1.75 million
Purpose: This project is designed to reduce flood risk in the Kingwood area. This project will create a detention basin and improve stormwater conveyance to minimize flood risks. Engineering studies show that completion of this project will result in substantial reductions in flooding along Taylor Gully. The studies show that this project will remove the 100-year floodplain from over 115 acres of flood area and from 276 structures.
FY23 Community Projects Signed into Law
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Project – $8 million
Purpose: This recently completed project reinforced the existing dam structure. The aging structure needed reinforcement and a project to replace this structure is underway. The dam gates will not be using this structure.
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $5 million
Purpose: The project involves creating a detention basin to alleviate flood risks in the Kingwood area. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district.
Harris County Municipal Utility District (HCMUD) 468 Stormwater Detention Basin Project-$2 million
Purpose: This project is for the excavation of a stormwater detention basin located in the Cypress Creek watershed. The Cypress Creek watershed is highly developed and has a lack of regional stormwater detention basins for flood mitigation. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district and provides upstream detention to Kingwood
FY22 Community Projects Signed Into Law
Kingwood Diversion Channel – $1.6 million
Purpose: The Kingwood Diversion Channel improvements are proposed to divert stormwater runoff from the Bens Branch channel to lower the risk of structural flooding along the portion of Bens Branch within the Kingwood area. This project will also provide capacity to allow for future local City of Houston neighborhood drainage improvements to outfall into the Kingwood Diversion Channel.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements – $1.6 million
This project will mitigate flooding on the north side of Kingwood.
TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $9.96 million
Purpose: This request is for TC Jester Detention Basin, which is a stormwater detention mitigation project within the Cypress Creek Watershed that is intended to address current flood damage reduction needs within the Cypress Creek Watershed. This project will provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Westador Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $8.85 million
Purpose: This project will also provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Each of these wins – border security funding, energy permitting, flood infrastructure – came from listening to our community and then acting decisively.
Crenshaw Deserves Even More Credit
Crenshaw didn’t say it, but the money he helped obtain for the Woodridge and Taylor Gully Projects also helped those projects qualify for $33 million dollars in CDBG-MIT grants. Harris County Flood Control District obtained those through the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In contrast, Crenshaw’s primary opponent, State Representative Steve Toth, voted against the bill to create a Lake Houston Dredging District, even though it would not have raised taxes.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/30/2025
2923 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.
Dawn of a Disaster: Harvey Remembered
8/29/25 – Eight years ago today, the Lake Houston Area woke up to the dawn of a disaster. During the previous day and night, the San Jacinto River rose 22 feet above flood stage at US59.
It swept several townhomes in Forest Cove off their foundations. And destroyed all the rest for blocks around.
Rising floodwaters eventually claimed the lives of 15 people in the Kingwood area – 12 of them in a senior center more than a mile from the river.
Harvey was not a single day event. It lasted the better part of a week. Different areas fell to its driving rains and howling winds at different times.
The Lake Houston Area bore the brunt of not only the storm, but water funneled downstream from an area 50% larger than Harris County itself.
That included a massive 79,000 cubic feet per second from Lake Conroe, the largest release ever by the SJRA.
Before It Was All Over…
16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses in the Lake Houston Area flooded.
Damage included 44% of all businesses in the Lake Houston Chamber and 100% of all businesses in Kingwood’s Town Center.
Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor. Thousands of students would be bussed to another high school for a year.
The flood also destroyed thousands of cars. The owners parked many of them on higher ground that they thought was safe.
Displaced families shuffled from one safe haven to another as the floodwaters spread.
Neighborhoods turned into islands, like lily pads, as rising water cut off evacuation routes for those who waited too long.
Raging currents damaged the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge. They also wiped out the UnionPacific bridge which they had to completely rebuild.
Rushing floodwaters also destroyed the southbound US59 bridge.
TXDoT spent almost a year repairing the southbound lanes. Their supports were weakened by scouring.
Grocery stores? Restaurants? Gone. People lived on Igloo cooler cuisine, potato chips and granola bars.
Communications? Knocked out.
Electricity? Gone. For days or weeks in some cases. Gas stations couldn’t pump gas. Forget about air conditioning. People gutted homes in sweltering heat.
Mountains of discarded family treasures littered streets for weeks as looters pillaged the community.
Families lived in campers and RVs or with friends for months while restoring homes.
Troubles Just Beginning
But the hardest part was still to come: understanding why all this destruction happened and determining what could be done to prevent it from happening again. And finally, organizing politically to build the solutions.
We would soon discover that as much as we were united by disaster, we were also divided by recovery. That would become the dawn of a another disaster. But more on that in a future post.
For more on Harvey, see the Flood Control District’s full 32-page report on the storm.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/29/25 with thanks to the hundreds of people who have contributed pictures
2922 Days since Hurricane Harvey
SCIPP Research Sheds New Light on Key Elements of Tropical Systems
8/28/25 – NOAA’s Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) just published its annual report. It includes new research findings on three key elements of tropical systems: a lengthening tropical season, stalling storms, and tropical cyclone size at landfall.
SCIPP publishes fascinating reports tailored to the south central region of the U.S. including Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The government/university partnership conducts research to understand climate hazard trends and patterns that are useful to decision makers. The information below is summarized from their annual report.
Tropical Season Lengthens 16 days
SCIPP analysis of Atlantic hurricane season length from 1970 to 2022 found that storms are forming increasingly earlier AND later in the season. In 1970, the first named storm formed around July 27th. However, by 2022, the date shifted to around May 31st. That represents an increase of season length of 11 days per decade … just on the front end.
On the back end, in 1970, the last named storm dissipated around October 24th. However, in 2022, the last storm dissipated around November 18th. This represents a roughly 5-day per decade shift, say the researchers.
“While improvements in observational practices raised some concerns about data quality,” they say, “our results suggest that the primary driver of season expansion is the earlier onset and prolonged persistence of favorable conditions for tropical cyclones, such as warm sea surface temperatures, elevated humidity, and reduced wind shear.”
The researchers recommend that the National Hurricane Center consider moving the start of hurricane season to May 15th to heighten awareness of these early season storms. They have presented their work widely within the scientific community. For more information, see Dr. Vincent Brown’s virtual presentation to the Inland Marine Underwriters Association.
Stalling Storms Increasing 1.5% Per Year
SCIPP researchers also found seasonality in stalling storms. Stalling is most common in October (17.3% of storms) and least common in August (8.2%).
Their analysis showed a significant increase in annual stalling frequency during the satellite era (1966–2020) at 1.5% per year.
Stalling storms were also significantly more likely to reach major-hurricane intensity.
These findings have been presented to stakeholders, academic audiences, and emergency managers to help them better prepare for future stalling events in vulnerable regions.
“Size at Landfall” Increasing Later in Season
The third featured project was a database of tropical cyclone size at landfall.
Accurate size data allows emergency managers, planners, and policymakers to better estimate potential exposure, improve evacuation planning, allocate resources, and design infrastructure that accounts for the full spatial footprint of storms. Their database supports:
The analysis found no statistically significant long-term change in size at landfall, However, it did find that:
Implications of the Three Studies
SCIPP says that collectively, these three studies highlight the “critical need to better understand tropical cyclone characteristics that directly affect coastal populations.”
The researchers hope to translate their scientific findings into actionable guidance for emergency management, infrastructure planning, and long-term community resilience.
The annual report also contains fascinating findings by leading academic institutions in the region on:
SCIPP’s theme is “Planning for Long-Term Change in a Short-Term World.” To learn more about their excellent work and conferences, or to sign up for their newsletters, visit SouthernClimate.org.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/28/2025
2921 Days since Hurricane Harvey