Rainfall and Flooding
Harris County Flood Warning System
Find out current and historic rainfall amounts in Harris County
Interactive map of precipitation frequency with updated data for Texas released September 2018 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Rainfall Calculator. How much rain falls during a storm? USGS Water Science School
Texas Medical Center-Rice University Flood Alert System
Buyers B-Where: Searchable real estate database of flood risk from the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores, Texas A&M, Galveston
Flood Factor: Find out your home’s past, present, and future flood risk. From the First Street Foundation.
Gauges measuring height and flow on local and state rivers and streams
National Weather Service rain and river gauges
United States Geological Survey gauges for Texas rivers
Note that while most (though not all) of our bayous and streams flow into Buffalo Bayou, they are all in the larger San Jacinto River Basin watershed. (This does not include the Brazos, Colorado or Trinity rivers, of course.) On this site, at the bottom of the page for a particular gauge, you can set up alerts to receive notices of how high the water is flowing.
USGS gauge at Piney Point, used to measure flow in Buffalo Bayou and regulate releases from the federal flood control dams upstream, Addicks and Barker.
Interactive Flood Map of Texas from the Texas Water Development Board
Water Resources Links for the Buffalo Bayou-San Jacinto River Watershed. From the US Geological Survey
US Geological Survey Interactive Watershed Map
See also Watershed Maps
Real-time Data for Addicks and Barker reservoirs and dams on Buffalo Bayou
Topographic Map for Houston and Surrounding Areas
Topographic Maps for Harris County
Historic Topo Maps of Buffalo Bayou in the Memorial Park Area
Topo Map of Buffalo Bayou, 1915-1922, a composite created by Tom Helm
Flood Zone Maps
Harris County Flood Education Mapping Tool
Find your flood zone where you live.
City of Houston Interactive Flood Zone Map for Houston Region
Texas Coastal Watershed Program Flood Zone Maps for coastal counties, Sept. 25, 2017
Federal Emergency Management Agency Searchable Interactive Flood Hazard Map
Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Maps through Feb. 2017
Texas Coastal Atlas
An interactive map showing transportation, drainage patterns, ecoregions, wetlands, green space, and more. From the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores, Texas A&M, Galveston
Galveston Bay Watershed and Wetland Permit Planning Tool
Wetlands Mapping Tool, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
Sea Level Rise
Searchable Map of Property at Risk from Sea Level Rise, Union of Concerned Scientists
Temperature, Precipitation, Drought: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate at a Glance
Historical average in Houston and Texas
Tide Gauge for Manchester on Buffalo Bayou and the Texas Coast
Trees, Runoff, Detention, Soil
Quantify the Benefit and Value of Trees in Houston and Around the World. The i-Tree program of tools developed by the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service
Cool Interactive Map for Understanding Rainfall, Runoff, and Absorption for Different Landscapes, Soil Types
River Runner: Drop a Raindrop Anywhere on the US Map and Watch How It Flows
Wastewater treatment plants, hazard waste sites in Harris County
Houston Galveston Area Council Water Resources Information Map
Interactive Map of Wastewater Outfalls (Drain Pipes) Flowing into Texas Streams from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Mosquito-borne disease map, Harris County
Map of Rainfall from Aug. 26 to Sept. 4, 2017
Animation of Hurricane Harvey inundation above and below Addicks and Barker dams, Aug-Sept. 2017, US Army Corps of Engineers
Water levels and flood hazard areas during Harvey, University of California, Davis, Center for Watershed Sciences
An interactive story map about Hurricane Harvey from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University and Houston Community Data Connections
An interactive story map of Houston’s historic development from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research
An interactive map of City of Houston Public Works and Engineering Capital Improvement Projects. Find your neighborhood.
How Rivers Work
Why Rivers Move. A very informative, 18-minute video from Practical Engineering.
Why Engineers Can’t Control Rivers. Another great video, 16 minutes, from Practical Engineering.
Why Rivers Shouldn’t Look Like This, 6-minute video, The Guardian