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: Flood Inundation Mapping services are now available for 10% of the U.S. population. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations for more information. The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via the URL above, as described in the StoryMap here.

Weather Forecast Office Midland/Odessa, TX

West Gulf River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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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 12 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. Reliability of the Forecast: Based on current and forecast river, weather and reservoir conditions NOTE: Forecasts for the Rio Grande at Castolon are issued as needed during times of high water, but are not routinely available. Vertical datum height surveyed by the USGS

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 24 Moderate Flood Stage: 19 Flood Stage: 15 Action Stage: 13 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 24.70 ft on 09/27/1958 (2) 24.60 ft on 10/03/1932 (3) 23.25 ft on 09/22/2008 (4) 21.30 ft on 09/30/1978 (5) 21.15 ft on 09/21/1974 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 19.40 ft on 05/28/2023 (2) 18.19 ft on 05/26/2023 (3) 17.42 ft on 10/11/2022 (4) 15.07 ft on 09/04/2022 (5) 15.09 ft on 09/04/2022 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) 1.45 ft on 05/31/2022 (2) 1.54 ft on 04/27/2022 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:15 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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24.7	the river reaches record stage (1978), and results in major flooding of Cottonwood Campground. All area roads are submerged.
19	the river reaches moderate flood stage, and begins flooding Cottonwood Campground. The river inundates the restrooms upstream at Santa Elena Canyon parking lot. The river begins to close all area roads.
15	the river reaches minor flood stage, and lowland flooding begins. The river begins to flood the road between Santa Elena Canyon and Cottonwood Campground in Big Bend National Park. The river begins to flood the parking lot at Santa Elena Canyon, and cut off the nature trail into the canyon. Campers in Cottonwood Campground need to prepare for possible evacuations.
13	the river reaches bankfull, and no significant damage is expected.

About This Location

Latitude: 29.137980° N, Longitude: 103.524903° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 15 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 2109.60 ft 2124.60 ft 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 Not Available Not Available   Current/Historical Observations: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data and Site Info for Castolon

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Monthly River and Flooding Reports Drought Information Precipitation Frequency Site Inundation Mapping Locations

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management West Gulf River Forecast Center International Boundary and Water Commission USGS Texas River Data Big Bend National Park Colorado River Municipal Water District Texas Water Development Board 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 Midland/Odessa Weather Forecast Office 2500 Challenger Drive Midland, TX 79706 (432) 563-5006 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities