Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of March 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS.

Experimental National Water Center Products: The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, and Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations, as described in the StoryMap here.

Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, TX

West Gulf River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Inundation Mapping

Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (CDT) Datum: NAVD88 Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 24 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. NOTE: Forecasts for the Colorado River (TX) at Columbus are issued routinely year-round.

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 43 Moderate Flood Stage: 39 Flood Stage: 34 Action Stage: 30 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 48.40 ft on 07/26/1938 (2) 48.17 ft on 08/29/2017 (3) 46.20 ft on 07/01/1940 (4) 45.67 ft on 04/19/2016 (5) 45.40 ft on 11/24/1940 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 48.17 ft on 08/29/2017 (2) 43.07 ft on 05/29/2016 (3) 45.67 ft on 04/19/2016 (4) 40.21 ft on 05/28/2015 (5) 32.64 ft on 11/03/2013 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records Currently none available. For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov. Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers not showing? Why aren't the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers showing on the ESRI Map? Possible reasons: There are no FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers for the location which you are viewing on ESRI Maps. The FEMA Web Mapping Service (WMS) is down. Note: Your zoom level may have changed. ESRI's zoom levels must be between 14 and 16 to show National Flood Hazard layers.

Zoom Level:16 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

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48	At levels above 48 feet flow escapes into the right flood plain near Columbus with widespread flooding of crop and pasture land downstream near Eagle Lake. In past floods U.S. Highway 90 in Columbus and FM 950 downstream of the gage were inundated and closed with many homes in the vicinity of the gage flooded.
47	At levels above 47 feet routed flow may overtop levees 110 miles downstream near Bay City. Significant flow will escape the channel near Garwood into the left Flood Plain with large volume loss as a large over bank storage area forms. In past floods U.S. Highway 90 in Columbus and FM 950 below the gage are inundated and closed with many homes near the gage flooded.
45	At levels above 45 feet major flooding of crop and pasture land downstream near Eagle Lake occurs. In past floods U.S. Highway 90 near Columbus was closed with many homes flooded and FM 950 below the gage is closed.
43	At levels above 43 feet, major lowland flooding occurs as U.S. Highway 90 floods. In past floods, many homes in the area flooded. FM 950 downstream from the gage is flooded.
41.3	At levels above 41.3 feet widespread flooding of the left flood plain occurs. In past floods some homes near U.S. Highway 90 had up to 2 feet of water in them and FM 950 downstream from the gage was innundated and closed
39	At levels above 39 feet moderate lowland flooding begins as water from Columbus routes to near 18 feet downstream near Eagle Lake and Garwood closing FM 950 with significant lowland flooding.
34	At levels above 34 feet minor lowland flooding begins as the flood plain in the vicinity of the gage is inundated.

About This Location

Latitude: 29.706111° N, Longitude: 96.536667° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 34 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 Not Available Not Available Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other NULL NULL   Current/Historical Observations: Corps of Engineers (COE) Info for Columbus U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data and Site Info for Columbus

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary United States Geological Survey Drought Indicies Inundation Mapping Locations Weather Prediction Center

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management West Gulf River Forecast Center Harris County Flood Control District Brazoria County Office of Emergency Management Fort Bend County State of Texas Office of Emergency Management Trinity River Authority San Jacinto River Authority Brazos River Authority Lower Colroado River Authority Lavaca-Navidad River Authority Snow Information

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Houston/Galveston Weather Forecast Office 1353 FM 646, Suite 202 Dickinson, TX 77539 (281) 337-5074 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities