Tuesday evening on the Lake Houston area. There are no flood alerts active for Harris, Montgomery or Liberty counties, and both lakes are sitting inside their normal range. The alerts in effect are air quality alerts: today’s Ozone Action Day runs through 7 p.m., and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has already declared Wednesday an Ozone Action Day as well. The forecast stays hot, with a slight chance of overnight showers and a heat index as high as 104 on Wednesday afternoon.
| Lake | Level | Percent full | Reading time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Houston | 42.31 feet | 99.7 percent | 5:30 p.m. Central, Tuesday, September 22 |
| Lake Conroe | 199.73 feet | 94.1 percent | Daily value for Tuesday, September 22 |
Lake Houston
The U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Lk Houston nr Sheldon, TX, site 08072000, read 42.31 feet at 5:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday, September 22. The reading comes from 190 measurements over the past two days.
Over the past 48 hours the gauge has moved between 42.27 feet, recorded at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, and 42.37 feet, recorded at 8:15 a.m. Monday. That is a swing of just over an inch across two days. The lake has eased down slowly all week and nothing in the record suggests a rise.
The Texas Water Development Board lists Lake Houston at 99.7 percent of conservation capacity, with a daily value of 42.34 feet. The board’s figure for Tuesday repeats Monday’s value, a carry-forward it has posted for several days running, so the USGS gauge is the better guide to where the lake is right now.
Lake Conroe
The Texas Water Development Board daily value for Lake Conroe is 199.73 feet and 94.1 percent full for Tuesday, September 22, down 0.02 feet from 199.75 feet on Monday. The lake is continuing the slow daily drawdown of this dry stretch. This is not a release event.
Lake Conroe belongs in a Lake Houston paper because the two are connected. San Jacinto River Authority releases from Lake Conroe flow down the West Fork of the San Jacinto River into Lake Houston, so the upstream level is part of the local flooding picture in Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita.
The forecast
Tonight. A slight chance of rain showers between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m., then mostly clear, with a low around 76. Heat index values as high as 101. Northeast wind 0 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent, with new rainfall of a tenth to a quarter of an inch possible.
Wednesday. Sunny, with a high near 97. Heat index values as high as 104. Northeast wind 0 to 5 mph. The forecast text carries no rain chance; the forecast grid puts it at 12 percent.
Wednesday night. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Heat index values as high as 102. East wind 0 to 5 mph. The forecast grid puts the rain chance at 7 percent.
The forecast was issued by the National Weather Service office in Houston/Galveston and last updated at 12:11 p.m. Central on Tuesday.
Alerts
There are no flood watches, warnings or advisories for Harris County, Montgomery County or Liberty County this evening.
Two air quality alerts from the National Weather Service in Houston/Galveston cover Harris County and neighboring coastal counties. The first is for today’s Ozone Action Day and runs through 7 p.m. Tuesday. The second, relayed Tuesday afternoon, declares Wednesday, September 23, an Ozone Action Day for the Houston, Galveston and Brazoria area. Both are air quality measures and have nothing to do with lake levels.
The 90-day burn ban for unincorporated Harris County also remains in effect. It is a fire risk measure tied to dry conditions.
Sources
Lake elevation from the U.S. Geological Survey. Reservoir storage and percent full from the Texas Water Development Board. Forecast and alerts from the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston. Gauge readings are provisional and subject to revision by the USGS.
