Flood Risk on the Bend

The Brazos River in Richmond is currently at Gage Elevation 10.06. Based on the 7-day extended forecast, no flooding along the Brazos River through Fort Bend County is anticipated.

This Week

This week the majority of the Brazos River Watershed should see sunny to mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid to low 90s and lows in the mid to high 70s.

There is a small chance for scattered showers today, but our best chance for rain will be the weekend. Yesterday’s 7 day rainfall forecast showed most of Texas seeing less than 0.1 inches over the next 7 days; however, today’s 7 Day QPF shows lightly more rain for portions of East and Northest Texas.

The Lower Brazos River Watershed, including Fort Bend County, continues to be a the lower side of the anticipated rainfall, with less than 0.25 inches over the next 7 days. Portions upstream of Waco and near Georgetown could see up to 1 inch over the next 7 days. This could bring some much needed rain to some of reservoirs (water supply) which the majority are running below their normal operating levels.

For many areas, drought conditions have improved or been non-existent over the past couple of months. Last week’s drought monitor, had almost 60% of the State not in a drought condition. With June rainfall falling short of our averages, we could see a quick return of drought conditions hit much of the State of Texas. Over the past 30 days, most of the State has been running 75% or less of normal rainfall with many areas receiving 25% or less of our normal rainfall. For many, droughts are not considered a negative until an area issues burn bans, but it has a major impact on water supply, agriculture, and soil conditions of critical facilities (dams, levees, etc.). These impacts may not “directly” impact the average Texan, but something we should be mindful of.

The other downside of droughts and dry periods is that people can easily forget about flood risk. As we get closer to the historically most active time for Tropical Activity (August through October), now is the best time to evaluate your risk and prepare your family and business. Don’t wait until a storm is in the Gulf to start your preparations. For more information, please visit Ready.gov, and FloodSmart.gov.