Here is where the water stands and what the forecast holds for the Lake Houston area on Sunday morning, September 13. No flood, flash flood or river flood alerts are in effect for Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties. A Heat Advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Sunday, and the details are in the alerts section below.
Lake levels at a glance
| Lake | Level | Percent full | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Houston | 42.52 feet | 100.0% | 5:30 a.m. Central, Sunday, September 13 |
| Lake Conroe | 199.89 feet | 94.8% | Daily value, September 13 |
Lake Houston
The U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Lk Houston nr Sheldon, site number 08072000, read 42.52 feet at 5:30 a.m. Central on Sunday, September 13. Over the previous 48 hours the gauge recorded 190 readings running back to 6:15 a.m. Friday, September 11, with a range of 42.41 to 42.58 feet. That is a spread of less than two tenths of a foot, which is an ordinary quiet stretch for this lake.
The Texas Water Development Board independently reported 42.52 feet for the same day and lists the reservoir at 100.0 percent of its conservation capacity. The two agencies agree exactly, which is the expected result when nothing unusual is happening.
Lake Conroe
The Texas Water Development Board reported Lake Conroe at 199.89 feet and 94.8 percent full in its daily value for September 13. That is down 0.02 feet from the 199.91 feet recorded a day earlier, and down 0.06 feet from the 199.95 feet recorded on September 10. The lake has been easing down slowly all week.
Lake Conroe sits in Montgomery County, well upstream of this coverage area, and it belongs in a Lake Houston paper for a practical reason. San Jacinto River Authority releases from Lake Conroe flow down the West Fork of the San Jacinto River into Lake Houston. What the upstream reservoir is holding, and what it decides to let go, is part of the flooding picture in Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita.
Weather
Today: Mostly sunny, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. High near 95, with heat index values as high as 109. South wind 0 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent, with new rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m., then mostly clear. Low around 77, with heat index values as high as 105. South wind 0 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent, with new rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Monday: Partly sunny, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. High near 94, with temperatures falling to around 91 in the afternoon, and heat index values as high as 107. Southeast wind 0 to 10 mph. The National Weather Service does not state a precipitation percentage for this period.
Active alerts
One alert is active for the counties this paper tracks, and it is a heat alert, not a flood alert. The National Weather Service in Houston/Galveston issued a Heat Advisory at 11:20 p.m. Saturday, September 12, running until 6 p.m. Sunday, September 13. The advisory covers Inland Harris County, Montgomery County and Northern Liberty County, along with a wide band of surrounding counties. Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Huffman, Summerwood and Fall Creek all sit inside the covered area.
Seven alerts were active across Texas at the time of this reading, six of them Heat Advisories. No flood watch, flash flood warning or river flood statement is in effect anywhere in Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties.
Sources
Lake Houston elevation from the U.S. Geological Survey gauge 08072000. Lake Conroe and Lake Houston storage from the Texas Water Development Board. Forecast and alerts from the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston. USGS gauge readings are provisional and subject to revision.
