Flood Risk on the Bend

The Brazos River in Richmond is currently at Gage Elevation 23.35. Based on the weekend rainfall, the Brazos River in Richmond experienced a 1-foot rise; however, it continues to fall. The WGRFC forecast shows the Brazos River in Richmond falling out of Action Stage on Wednesday morning. Based on the 7-day extended forecast, no flooding along the Brazos River through Fort Bend County is anticipated.

The NWS WGRFC’s April 5 Tweet had a good graphical summary of the weekend rainfall and its impacts to the region.

Looking at the past 2 days the heavy rainfall fell right over area of recent drought

Drought monitor will be updated Thursday but no doubt the rainfall was beneficial

However, more rain is on the way, along with a higher chance of flooding next week. #txwx #txdrought #ctxwx pic.twitter.com/Jesvtkqilq

— NWSWGRFC (@NWSWGRFC) April 5, 2020

This Week

After a relatively beautiful 2^nd half of the weekend, our weather conditions will continue to be on a warming trend with partly cloudy skies and slight rain chances through Thursday. High temperatures will reach the upper 80s to low 90s into Wednesday before our next cold front arrives bringing our highs into the mid to upper 60s to the mid to upper 70s through the weekend.

The confidence in the forecast beyond Thursday is low but based on the current forecasts, the lower Brazos River watershed could see between 1.0 to 2.0 inches of rainfall over the next 7 days. The forecasts show the majority of that rainfall occurring Thursday through Saturday.

Individual Assistance (IA) Grants are available only after a National Disaster Declaration is declared for the area of the flooded structure. A Flood Insurance claim can be made when a structure is flooded regardless of a National Disaster Declaration. Additionally, Individual Assistance for many is a 1 time grant since the terms of the Grant requires flood insurance to be bought annually for the life of the structure. After that, the current or any future owners of the structure will not be eligible for any future Individual Assistance. We never know when the next flood will occur so plan ahead and start your preparations now. For more information, please visit NWS Flood Safety,  Ready.gov, and FloodSmart.gov.