City Lowering Lake Houston in Advance of Flood Threat

10/23/25 – Houston District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger announced this afternoon that the City will lower the level of Lake Houston one foot beginning tomorrow morning. The reason: a severe storm arriving Friday night into Saturday morning could dump 2-4 inches of rain over widespread parts of the Lake Houston Watershed. Isolated higher totals up to 6″ are possible where training of thunderstorm cells occurs.

Training refers to a line of thunderstorms that follows a similar path, so that one after another dumps rain on the same neighborhoods.

NOAA’s Severe Storm Center has issued alerts for possible street flooding this weekend for areas that receive high amounts of rain in short periods.

The San Jacinto River Authority is also monitoring rainfall forecasts for the weekend, but has not yet announced whether it will lower Lake Conroe. That lake is already a foot low due to evaporation during the drought. So it likely has enough capacity to absorb the coming rainfall.

Current Lake Level Report as of 5:30 PM 10/23/25

Lake Houston:

Lake Houston is currently at 42.12 feet (normal pool is 42.4 feet). Its gates will be opened beginning tomorrow morning to lower the lake one foot below normal pool, according to pre-release protocols. 

Property owners along the lake should secure their shoreline property. Lake Houston levels can be monitored here.

Lake Conroe: 

Lake Conroe is currently at 199.98 feet (normal pool is 201 feet). Lake Conroe levels can be monitored here.

Monitor Official Sources for Current Information:

Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall may continue through late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Please use verified news sources for inclement weather information. These include:

• Harris County Flood Warning System (harriscountyfws.org)
• Houston TranStar (houstontranstar.org)
• National Weather Service Houston/Galveston Forecast Office (weather.gov/hgx).
• You can monitor streams and rivers here at the River Forecast Center.

Flash flooding is possible. So, stay weather aware and avoid roadways if possible during rain events.

It only takes 6 inches of water to move a car.

HCFCD

Always turn around, don’t drown.

Monitor Travel Conditions Closely with AlertHouston.org

Stay informed of current conditions and avoid traveling near creeks and bayous.

Timely information during emergencies is important. AlertHouston delivers critical information to Houston residents regarding current conditions, expected impacts, and protective actions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

Register for emergency alerts through email, text message, voice call, or mobile app push notifications. Most alerts are geo-targeted; subscribers with loved ones around the city may register up to five physical addresses per contact record. Sign up today at www.alerthouston.org.

Threat Starts Friday, But Expect Heaviest Weather on Saturday

As atmospheric lift increases into Friday night and Saturday, showers and thunderstorms will become more numerous. Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s Meteorologist, says that the potential exists for a complex of storms to form over West Texas Friday evening and move toward the Houston area by sunrise Saturday.

This would likely be the first round of more sustained heavy rainfall, according to Lindner. More rain will linger back to the west, so additional thunderstorms and rainfall could develop into Saturday evening.

A few of the thunderstorms on Saturday could become strong to severe with damaging winds and hail being the main threats. However, they do not appear to threaten widespread areas at the moment. Lindner says wind and hail are secondary to the heavy rainfall threat at the moment.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has placed nearly all of the area under a “marginal” or level 1 out of 5 severe threat for Saturday.

PivotalWeather.com predicts accumulated rainfall in Harris and Montgomery Counties to reach approximately 3.5 inches with higher accumulations to our north and east. But this could change as the storm gets nearer.

Drought May Offset Potential Stream Flooding

Given recent dry conditions, much of this rainfall can be handled. In fact, it is much needed…as long as it does not fall all at once.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has placed the area under a “slight” risk or level 2 out of 4 for flash flooding on Saturday.

Lindner feels that at this time, bayous and creeks should be capable of handling even the higher predicted rainfall totals. He expects to see significant rises on area streams, but feels significant flooding is unlikely at this time.

Lindner also feels that strong southerly winds will push high tides along the coast 4-5 feet higher than normal. Building seas and higher-than-normal tides could create minor coastal flooding at high tides.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/23/25 at 5:30pm

2977 days since Hurricane Harvey

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