Good evening from the Lake Houston area. Both lakes are in their normal range this evening, and the National Weather Service has no watches, warnings or advisories in effect for Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties. Rain chances climb through Thursday.
Lake Levels at a Glance
| Lake | Level | Percent Full | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Houston | 42.11 feet | 98.2 percent | 5:30 p.m. Central, Wednesday, September 30 |
| Lake Conroe | 199.52 feet | 93.1 percent | Daily value for Wednesday, September 30 |
Lake Houston
Lake Houston read 42.11 feet at 5:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, September 30, on the United States Geological Survey gauge at Lk Houston nr Sheldon, TX, site 08072000. Over the past 48 hours the gauge has ranged from 42.08 to 42.24 feet, a swing of about two inches.
The Texas Water Development Board put Lake Houston at 42.17 feet and 98.2 percent of conservation capacity in its daily value for September 30. The small gap between the two figures is the ordinary difference between an intraday gauge reading and a once-daily reservoir value, and the two sources agree on the picture: the lake is close to full and holding steady.
Lake Conroe
Lake Conroe stood at 199.52 feet and 93.1 percent full in the Texas Water Development Board daily value for September 30, down from 199.54 feet and 93.2 percent on Tuesday. That is a decline of about two hundredths of a foot in a day, which continues the gradual late September drawdown rather than signaling a release event.
Lake Conroe matters in a Lake Houston paper because San Jacinto River Authority releases from Conroe flow down the West Fork of the San Jacinto River into Lake Houston. The upstream level is part of the local flooding picture in Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita, which is why this page carries both lakes every day.
The Forecast
Tonight: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain showers between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Low around 77. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent, with new rainfall amounts under a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday: Partly sunny with showers and thunderstorms becoming likely in the afternoon, heaviest between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. High near 92, with temperatures falling to around 88 in the afternoon, and heat index values as high as 101. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Thursday night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 75. Southeast wind 0 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent, with new rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch possible.
Active Alerts
There are no active National Weather Service watches, warnings or advisories for Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties this evening.
Twenty-two alerts are active elsewhere in Texas, including seven flood watches, five flood advisories, one flood warning, three severe thunderstorm watches, two severe thunderstorm warnings and one heat advisory. None of them covers the Lake Houston area. A reader skimming statewide headlines this week could easily conclude otherwise, so it is worth stating plainly: nothing is in effect here.
Sources
Lake Houston elevation and the 48 hour range come from the United States Geological Survey gauge at Lk Houston nr Sheldon, TX. Percent full figures for both lakes and the Lake Conroe elevation come from the Texas Water Development Board reservoir monitoring service. The forecast and alert information come from the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office. USGS gauge readings are provisional and subject to revision.
