Flood Risk on the Bend

Yesterday around 7:15 pm we finally saw the San Felipe Gage crest near Gage Elevation 119.79 feet. Since its crest, San Felipe has fallen approximately 2 feet. Since early this morning we have also seen cresting near the western portions of Fort Bend County, with the River falling several inches over the past 12 hours.

Throughout the day, we continued to see the Brazos River in Richmond slowly rise; however, since this morning, we have seen the first signs of the River cresting in Richmond. Currently, Richmond is showing Gage Elevation 46.49 feet with a forecasted crest of Gage Elevation 46.5 feet.

Even with Richmond cresting, we need to continue to pay close attention to the conditions of the River as well as any additional rainfall that could occur. The National Weather Service has expanded the overall rain chances for the next 7 days with a 75% chance for rain on Friday and Saturday and a 20% for rain from Sunday through Tuesday as another potential storm system moves through Texas.

The good news is that it appears Fort Bend County and the lower Brazos River watershed will get a break from the heaviest rains giving us a good chance to let the Brazos River fall as predicted. As of this evening, the estimated rainfall totals over the next 7 days around 1/2 inch.

Please continue to follow the official forecasts by the West Gulf River Forecast Center (WGRFC), the NWS Houston-Galveston Office, and notices from the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management for more information.

One of the most positive things that has come out of this rise, is the increased amount of awareness and shared information about the Brazos River. We started this site with the hopes of filling a gap we saw from some of our previous flood events, but overall we have seen better coverage that has helped many people understand and prepare this event. One of the most recent posts is the following video created by the National Weather Service.

After you view the video above, check out other videos and information posted by on the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management’s YouTube Channel.