Kingwood, Harris: Straight line winds of 65-70mph produced a swath of damage across a portion of Kingwood including damage to some roofs as well as trees and power lines.
Woodland Hills between River Grove Park and Romerica Property. Brief rainfall on 5/3/19 exceeded capacity of drainage ditches and culverts, forcing part of the water to divert down greenbelt trail toward wetlands in River Grove Park. Video courtesy of Mohamad-Khaled Chaouki Jrab.
Lake Houston, Harris: public video of waterspout over Lake Houston just north of the FM 1960 bridge and near the eastern shore of Lake Houston
Storm Report for Surrounding Areas
LaGrange, Fayette: Tornado ***EF-2** * 120mph winds. 2.48 miles long and 75 yards wide.
Tornado began south of the airport where heavy tree damage occurred and then approached HWY 71 where heavy damage occurred to a business where vehicles were overturned. A 90,000 pound piece of machinery was shifted and overturned…rated EF 2 at this location. The tornado continued north and crossed HWY 71 destroying a metal building and heavily damaging a church. The tornado dissipated just south of the Colorado River.
Eagle Lake, Colorado: Tornado ***EF-0*** 65-85mph. Spotter, fire department, and emergency management officials reported and recorded on video a couple of weak tornado touchdown in open rural farm land SW and S of Eagle Lake. Damage was confined to trees over open land.
4SW Monaville, Waller: wind damage to trees….possible tornado. Public cell phone video near the time of the report and radar data showing a velocity couplet supports a brief and weak tornado touchdown. This was the start of the supercell cell that would produce wind damage across N Harris County and another tornado near Tomball.
Tomball, Harris: Tornado ***EF-0*** 65-85mph. Trained storm spotter recorded a large funnel cloud west of Tomball that appeared to have at least one portion of the funnel reach the ground. Wind damage occurred near FM 2920 and Telge Rd, which was near the video of the funnel cloud. Additional wind damage occurred north of FM 2920 and north of Tomball along Hufsmith Rd.
Spring, Harris: wind damage including a large pine tree onto a house.
Matagorda, Matagorda: 46mph wind gust recorded by Weatherflow site
Santa Fe, Galveston: roof and damage to a home on Gamble Rd from straight line winds
San Leon, Galveston: 62mph wind gust recorded by Eagle Point PORTS site
Galveston, Galveston: 45mph wind recorded near Fort Crockett
Posted by Bob Rehak on May 5, 2019
614 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Screen-Shot-2019-05-05-at-5.38.49-PM-copy.jpg?fit=1500%2C798&ssl=17981500adminadmin2019-05-05 17:42:042019-05-05 17:42:29Harris County Flood Control Issues Storm Report for Last Friday, Saturday: Here’s What Hit Us
Keep your eye on the sky for more severe-weather threats this week. Harris County Flood Control Meteorologist Jeff Linder warns that the coming week could bring us 5-7 inches of rain, and higher totals in places. He says the upper level trough setting up over the southwestern US will send us one storm after another. Linder compared the current pattern to those in the springs of 2015 and 2016. We saw multiple floods across Texas in both of those years.
Rainfall total forecast for May 5 through 12.
Monday Night/Tuesday: Saturating Soils
A strong disturbance will move into southeast Texas on Monday night and Tuesday with widespread showers and thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall of 1-2 inches with higher isolated totals will be possible along with a slight severe weather threat. Lindner thinks “most of the area will be able to handle this round of rainfall as long as there is no sustained cell training that develops and the overall forward progression of the system remains fast enough to prevent rainfall totals from piling up.” What this system will likely accomplish is further saturation of the soil over the area. Lindner calls it a “primer” event for more sustained heavy rainfall toward the end of the week.
Thursday-Saturday: Flood, Severe Weather Threats
Another strong storm system will approach toward the end of the week along with a slow moving and stalling surface frontal boundary. An extremely moist air mass along with the overall slow eastward progression of the storm system moving out of Mexico are significant heavy-rainfall signals during this period. Lindner expects several inches as several rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms impact the region. Flooding and severe weather will be possible during this period.
Rainfall Totals and Flood Risk
Rainfall totals over the next 5 days should average 4-5 inches over much of southeast Texas and there will almost certainly be higher isolated totals. The widespread nature of the incoming weather this week on top of increasingly saturated grounds, and already swollen rivers, creek, and bayous increases the flooding threat. Main concern will be the Brazos, Trinity, and San Jacinto River basins and toward the end of the week the Harris County bayous and creeks if the current forecast holds.
Exact timing of the rainfall and storms as well as amounts and locations of the higher totals will be in flux over the next 5 days.
The Tax and Memorial Day Floods in 2015 and 2016 did as much damage as many hurricanes. So it would be good to prepare an evacuation kit, just in case. Here are some tips.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/image001-1.gif?fit=750%2C562&ssl=1562750adminadmin2019-05-05 15:53:362019-05-05 16:15:56Severe Weather, Heavy Rainfall Threats Return for Much of This Week
Storms during the last two days were traumatic for virtually everyone in the Kingwood area. Tragically, one person lost her life when her car hit a downed tree.
Others lost vehicles, trees, and sleep.
Torrential rains for a brief period – at the rate of 4-5 inches in an hour – flooded streets and vehicles.
They also brought water near or into homes.
Parents picking children up from school waited in rising waters as their students sheltered in place.
A small tornado may have briefly touched down near Town Center.
Kingwood Drive was shut down for hours during the Friday afternoon rush hour.
People traumatized by Harvey were re-traumatized.
People without power waited and wondered for hours about what was going on around them.
Lake Conroe: One Less Worry This Time
Despite all that, we did NOT have to worry about one thing: Lake Conroe opening its flood gates again during this storm. The seasonal lowering policy established last year worked.
The SJRA board voted to lower the lake’s level one foot to 200 mean feet above sea level (MSL) from April 1 to May 31.
That action may have saved the Lake Houston area from additional flooding in the last round of storms.
Releasing Water Continuously At Low Rate Created Extra Capacity
Lake Conroe had released water continuously since April 1 at a slow, controlled rate of 350 to 550 cubic feet per second. However, because of spring rains, Lake Conroe had only dropped about a half foot from 201 to 200.66 feet MSL. Had the releases not happened, the lake would have been an estimated 1-1.5 feet higher, according to Mark Micheletti, an SJRA board member from Kingwood. That means the lake level would have been approaching 202 feet, the level at which the SJRA automatically begins releasing water, when the storm hit. That would have forced the SJRA to release water at a higher rate that could have overloaded the downstream watershed.
Buffer Against Downstream Flooding Worked
In other words, the policy worked. The seasonal lowering provided a buffer against downstream flooding. NOAA shows a double crest on the San Jacinto West Fork at US59 during the last two days that coincided with two waves of storms. At peak flow, the river came within about two feet of going out of its banks.
An additional foot of water released from Lake Conroe would have added two feet to Lake Houston and created flooding.
About a mile downstream at River Grove Park, the water was up, but still within its banks.
Despite torrential rains last night and early this morning, the West Fork remained in its banks. The river was up, but no homes flooded from the river.
Success: No Rivers or Streams Out of Banks
At this hour, neither NOAA, the SJRA, nor Harris County Flood Control, predicts any flooding from yesterday’s storms. In fact, all streams and bayous seem to be receding at this time. That’s one less thing to worry about as we clean up from the latest storm. The SJRA’s seasonal lowering DID help.
Remember, Lake Conroe is almost twice as big as Lake Houston (33 sq. mi. vs 18.5 sq. mi.). So one foot released there translates into almost two feet here. And two feet would likely have forced the San Jacinto out of its banks for the fifth time in a year.
Kudos to the SJRA board, the City of Houston, and the TCEQ for enabling this policy. That, in conjunction with the City’s pre-release policy for Lake Houston, have made a difference.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/5/2019
614 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hmmt2_hg-1.png?fit=600%2C465&ssl=1465600adminadmin2019-05-04 22:51:322020-01-17 08:59:15One Less Thing to Worry About in Latest Storm: How Seasonal Lowering of Lake Conroe Helped
Harris County Flood Control Issues Storm Report for Last Friday, Saturday: Here’s What Hit Us
Someone on Facebook asked, “How did the May 3 and 4 storms in Kingwood compare to surrounding areas?” Here’s the answer – from Jeff Lindner, Harris County Flood Control’s chief meteorologist.
Storm Report for Lake Houston Area
Kingwood, Harris: Straight line winds of 65-70mph produced a swath of damage across a portion of Kingwood including damage to some roofs as well as trees and power lines.
Lake Houston, Harris: public video of waterspout over Lake Houston just north of the FM 1960 bridge and near the eastern shore of Lake Houston
Storm Report for Surrounding Areas
LaGrange, Fayette: Tornado ***EF-2** * 120mph winds. 2.48 miles long and 75 yards wide.
Tornado began south of the airport where heavy tree damage occurred and then approached HWY 71 where heavy damage occurred to a business where vehicles were overturned. A 90,000 pound piece of machinery was shifted and overturned…rated EF 2 at this location. The tornado continued north and crossed HWY 71 destroying a metal building and heavily damaging a church. The tornado dissipated just south of the Colorado River.
Eagle Lake, Colorado: Tornado ***EF-0*** 65-85mph. Spotter, fire department, and emergency management officials reported and recorded on video a couple of weak tornado touchdown in open rural farm land SW and S of Eagle Lake. Damage was confined to trees over open land.
4SW Monaville, Waller: wind damage to trees….possible tornado. Public cell phone video near the time of the report and radar data showing a velocity couplet supports a brief and weak tornado touchdown. This was the start of the supercell cell that would produce wind damage across N Harris County and another tornado near Tomball.
Tomball, Harris: Tornado ***EF-0*** 65-85mph. Trained storm spotter recorded a large funnel cloud west of Tomball that appeared to have at least one portion of the funnel reach the ground. Wind damage occurred near FM 2920 and Telge Rd, which was near the video of the funnel cloud. Additional wind damage occurred north of FM 2920 and north of Tomball along Hufsmith Rd.
Spring, Harris: wind damage including a large pine tree onto a house.
Matagorda, Matagorda: 46mph wind gust recorded by Weatherflow site
Santa Fe, Galveston: roof and damage to a home on Gamble Rd from straight line winds
San Leon, Galveston: 62mph wind gust recorded by Eagle Point PORTS site
Galveston, Galveston: 45mph wind recorded near Fort Crockett
Posted by Bob Rehak on May 5, 2019
614 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Severe Weather, Heavy Rainfall Threats Return for Much of This Week
Keep your eye on the sky for more severe-weather threats this week. Harris County Flood Control Meteorologist Jeff Linder warns that the coming week could bring us 5-7 inches of rain, and higher totals in places. He says the upper level trough setting up over the southwestern US will send us one storm after another. Linder compared the current pattern to those in the springs of 2015 and 2016. We saw multiple floods across Texas in both of those years.
Monday Night/Tuesday: Saturating Soils
A strong disturbance will move into southeast Texas on Monday night and Tuesday with widespread showers and thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall of 1-2 inches with higher isolated totals will be possible along with a slight severe weather threat. Lindner thinks “most of the area will be able to handle this round of rainfall as long as there is no sustained cell training that develops and the overall forward progression of the system remains fast enough to prevent rainfall totals from piling up.” What this system will likely accomplish is further saturation of the soil over the area. Lindner calls it a “primer” event for more sustained heavy rainfall toward the end of the week.
Thursday-Saturday: Flood, Severe Weather Threats
Another strong storm system will approach toward the end of the week along with a slow moving and stalling surface frontal boundary. An extremely moist air mass along with the overall slow eastward progression of the storm system moving out of Mexico are significant heavy-rainfall signals during this period. Lindner expects several inches as several rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms impact the region. Flooding and severe weather will be possible during this period.
Rainfall Totals and Flood Risk
Rainfall totals over the next 5 days should average 4-5 inches over much of southeast Texas and there will almost certainly be higher isolated totals. The widespread nature of the incoming weather this week on top of increasingly saturated grounds, and already swollen rivers, creek, and bayous increases the flooding threat. Main concern will be the Brazos, Trinity, and San Jacinto River basins and toward the end of the week the Harris County bayous and creeks if the current forecast holds.
Exact timing of the rainfall and storms as well as amounts and locations of the higher totals will be in flux over the next 5 days.
Although some street flooding is possible, I suspect the main threat will be river flooding this time.
Things You Can Do to Prepare
The Tax and Memorial Day Floods in 2015 and 2016 did as much damage as many hurricanes. So it would be good to prepare an evacuation kit, just in case. Here are some tips.
Get a backup battery charger for your cell phone in case of extended power outages. Remember the 13 days Kingwood went without power after Hurricane Ike?
Change out the batteries in your flashlights and weather radio. Remember those? They still work!
Learn how to read cloud formations and what they mean. Here’s a link to a well-illustrated article about threatening cloud formations. You may also want to search for “cloud formations before tornados.”
Move your vehicle to higher ground, preferably inside a garage. Remember, large hail often occurs with severe storms and can destroy a car’s finish.
After a flash flood, stay home or stay at work.
Posted by Bob Rehak on May 5, 2019
614 Days since Hurricane Harvey
One Less Thing to Worry About in Latest Storm: How Seasonal Lowering of Lake Conroe Helped
Storms during the last two days were traumatic for virtually everyone in the Kingwood area. Tragically, one person lost her life when her car hit a downed tree.
Lake Conroe: One Less Worry This Time
Despite all that, we did NOT have to worry about one thing: Lake Conroe opening its flood gates again during this storm. The seasonal lowering policy established last year worked.
That action may have saved the Lake Houston area from additional flooding in the last round of storms.
Releasing Water Continuously At Low Rate Created Extra Capacity
Lake Conroe had released water continuously since April 1 at a slow, controlled rate of 350 to 550 cubic feet per second. However, because of spring rains, Lake Conroe had only dropped about a half foot from 201 to 200.66 feet MSL. Had the releases not happened, the lake would have been an estimated 1-1.5 feet higher, according to Mark Micheletti, an SJRA board member from Kingwood. That means the lake level would have been approaching 202 feet, the level at which the SJRA automatically begins releasing water, when the storm hit. That would have forced the SJRA to release water at a higher rate that could have overloaded the downstream watershed.
Buffer Against Downstream Flooding Worked
In other words, the policy worked. The seasonal lowering provided a buffer against downstream flooding. NOAA shows a double crest on the San Jacinto West Fork at US59 during the last two days that coincided with two waves of storms. At peak flow, the river came within about two feet of going out of its banks.
About a mile downstream at River Grove Park, the water was up, but still within its banks.
Success: No Rivers or Streams Out of Banks
At this hour, neither NOAA, the SJRA, nor Harris County Flood Control, predicts any flooding from yesterday’s storms. In fact, all streams and bayous seem to be receding at this time. That’s one less thing to worry about as we clean up from the latest storm. The SJRA’s seasonal lowering DID help.
Kudos to the SJRA board, the City of Houston, and the TCEQ for enabling this policy. That, in conjunction with the City’s pre-release policy for Lake Houston, have made a difference.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/5/2019
614 Days since Hurricane Harvey