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BayouWatch

Houston flood conditions

Know how close your bayou is to flooding.

BayouWatch watches 47 water-level sensors across Houston, anchored by USGS stream gauges and measured against official National Weather Service flood stages, and texts residents 30 to 60 minutes before their street floods. Free, in five languages.

Check your streetLive conditions

Bayou levels now

USGS · Updated 7:30 AM

Normal
  • Buffalo · W Belt46%
  • Buffalo · Piney Point46%
  • Brickhouse Gully53%
  • White Oak · Heights25%
  • Brays · Main St22%
  • Sims · Telephone Rd10%
  • Greens · Aldine36%
  • Greens · Ley Rd9%

Percent of the way from an empty channel to official flood stage.

Built on public data from

  • USGS

    Water Resources

  • National Weather Service

    Houston/Galveston

  • NOAA

    Water Prediction Service

  • Harris County

    Flood Control District

Official stages

Every reading against the line that matters.

A stage in feet means little on its own. Each gauge is checked against its own NWS action, flood and major flood stages, the same lines forecasters use.

Brays Bayou at Main St

16.8 ft

Normal · NWS gauge HBMT2

Rain outlook

What the sky is about to add.

Forecast rainfall for central Houston from the National Weather Service, updated through the day.

Next 24 hours
0.00 in
Next 3 days
0.00 in

  • Today

    3%

  • Wed

    12%

  • Thu

    7%

  • Fri

    6%

  • Sat

    16%

  • Sun

    12%

Harvey, replayed

Tested on the real storm.

In August 2017 Brays Bayou at Main St reached action stage 2 hours before it left its banks, then crested at 45.7 ft.

Aug 25Flood stage 41 ftSep 1
Replay Harvey

Five languages

Readable in the languages Houston speaks.

Live conditions and the address check work in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese and Arabic.

  • FloodingEnglish
  • InundaciónEspañol
  • Đang ngậpTiếng Việt
  • 洪水中文
  • فيضانالعربية

Your street

Start from your address.

Type an address and BayouWatch finds the nearest gauges, how far away they are, and how close each is to flooding.

Check address

Straight answers

What BayouWatch measures, what it can’t, and where the numbers come from.

Where do the readings come from?

Stage readings come straight from the U.S. Geological Survey’s stream gauges, the same instruments Harris County and the National Weather Service rely on. Flood stages come from the NWS Water Prediction Service.

How do I get text alerts?

Check your address and choose Get alerts, or sign up with your address and phone number. When the gauges near you cross a threshold, BayouWatch texts you in the language you pick.

Is a normal reading a guarantee my street won’t flood?

No. Streets can flood from overwhelmed storm drains long before a bayou rises. Treat BayouWatch as one signal, and always follow official warnings.

How current is the data?

USGS gauges report every 15 minutes and BayouWatch refreshes every five. Each reading shows the time it was taken.

All questions

Check your street before the next storm.

Every gauge is below action stage.

Check your streetMap