This is the Thursday evening reading for October 1. There are no National Weather Service flood alerts of any kind in effect for Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties. Lake Houston rose about two inches through Thursday afternoon as rain moved across the area, and it remains inside its normal operating range. Rain chances stay elevated into the weekend, so the gauge is worth watching, but nothing in the current data points to a flood concern here.
Lake levels at a glance
| Lake | Level | Percent full | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Houston | 42.30 feet | 98.5 percent | 5:30 p.m. Central, Thursday, October 1 |
| Lake Conroe | 199.49 feet | 93.0 percent | Daily value for October 1 |
The Lake Houston elevation above is the intraday reading from the United States Geological Survey. The percent full figures for both lakes are once daily values from the Texas Water Development Board.
Lake Houston
The USGS gauge at Lk Houston nr Sheldon, TX, site 08072000, read 42.30 feet at 5:30 p.m. Central on Thursday, October 1. Over the previous 48 hours the gauge ranged from 42.08 feet to 42.39 feet, a spread of about four inches. The low came at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday and the high came at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, after rain moved through the area. The lake sat near 42.19 feet through Thursday morning, so the afternoon brought a rise of roughly two inches.
The Texas Water Development Board put Lake Houston at 42.21 feet and 98.5 percent of conservation capacity in its daily value for October 1, up from 42.17 feet and 98.2 percent on Wednesday. USGS gauge readings are provisional and subject to revision.
Lake Conroe
The Texas Water Development Board daily value for October 1 puts Lake Conroe at 199.49 feet and 93.0 percent full, down two hundredths of a foot from 199.51 feet on Wednesday. That is the ordinary slow late season decline rather than anything resembling a release event.
San Jacinto River Authority releases from Lake Conroe flow down the West Fork of the San Jacinto River into Lake Houston, which is why the upstream level matters in Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita. A rising Conroe level or an announced release is the first signal that more water is heading downstream.
Weather
Tonight. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 40 percent, with new rainfall of a quarter to half an inch possible.
Friday. Showers and thunderstorms at times, mostly cloudy, with a high near 90 and temperatures falling to around 85 in the afternoon. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent, with another quarter to half an inch possible.
Friday night. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Northeast wind 0 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent, with a quarter to half an inch possible.
The forecast was issued by the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office and last updated at 4:06 p.m. Central on Thursday, October 1. No heat index was listed for any of the three periods.
Alerts
There are no National Weather Service alerts of any kind in effect for Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties.
Thirty three alerts are active across Texas, including nine flood warnings, nine flood watches, eight flood advisories and two flash flood warnings, nearly all of them well to the west and north of this area. The Houston/Galveston office has four products out, none of them covering this coverage area: two flood advisories for Austin, Brazos, Burleson and Washington counties, a flood watch for Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado and Washington counties, and a rip current statement for Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula and the Matagorda and Brazoria islands.
Sources
Lake Houston elevation from the United States Geological Survey, gauge 08072000. Percent full and Lake Conroe elevation from the Texas Water Development Board. Forecast and alerts from the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office. Gauge readings are provisional and subject to revision by USGS.
