What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

[VIPcole]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

All us Texas boaters have to be carful this year.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/outdoors/tompkins/7606639.html

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

Scary stuff. And to add to the article, lake Houston is down 5 feet as of today's newpaper report, not 2.5.

5' low puts the water at 18" deep at our dock near the boat ramp, rendering it useless.

I was not aware that all the lakes were suffering as we were.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

We are continually losing 1/10 of a foot of water per day. There is a sand bar at the ramp, and another just past the ramp about where the no-wake buoys are.

We have 30-50% chance of rain this week from Tuesday through Friday, so just maybe....

Guys are pulling submerged trees out of the water near the ramp that we didn't know were there. So if there is a silver lining, that is it.'

Or maybe that my boat is acquiring ZERO hours this season, holding up it's resale value???

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

Rained for about six hours today.

Not enough to make much difference in the level of the lake.

 

[cgd7777777]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

you should be getting a little more today...it will come up in a few days when it all drains off.
And oh by the way they arent opening the locks anymore here at the trinity..so nothing but salt water south of it...Last fri we anchored over a lil sand bar waist deep my wife says "i dont like it here cause of the aligators" I said nah don't worry about it, bout 20 min later mr. gator comes swimming by on the other side and it took her about 2 sec to get back in the boat!!

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

That gator story is pretty typical of what would happen with my wife and I . She thinks every log she sees is a gator.

If she thought for one second there were any in the water near us, I would never get her off the shore.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

Getting low enough that you can see sandbars just off the boat ramp.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

Its been raining here for 4 days. .

Our lake is full and the NYS canal is full and the rivers are full.

I would love to send some N.Y. water your way.

• National Weather Service
• Saturday, June 25, 2011 4:33 PM Local Time

FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 433 PM EDT SAT JUN 25 2011 NYC065-260833- /O.CON.KALY.FL.W.0078.000000T0000Z-110626T1203Z/ 433 PM EDT SAT JUN 25 2011 THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE MOHAWK RIVER AT DELTA DAM. * UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING. * AT 4 AM SATURDAY THE STAGE WAS 551.6 FEET. * FLOOD STAGE IS 551.5 FEET. * MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST. * THE RIVER IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 551.8 FEET BY 5 PM SATURDAY. THE RIVER IS FORECAST TO FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE AFTER 2 AM SUNDAY. * IMPACT...AT 551.5 FEET...DURING NAVIGATION SEASON...THE ERIE CANAL MAY BE CLOSED NEAR LOCKS 20 AND 21. FLD OBSERVED FORECAST 8 PM 2 AM 8 AM 2 PM 8 PM LOCATION STG STG DAY TIME SAT SUN SUN SUN SUN MOHAWK RIVER DELTA DAM 551.5 551.6 SAT 04 AM 551.7 551.5 551.3 551.1 550.7

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

Entire state of Texas has been declared a Natural Disaster due to ongoing drought. Third worst drought in history, still going on, soon to be worst ever.

http://www.1035superx.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104668&article=8769900

 

[gilbugs]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

I was on the lake last weekend for the first time and was surprised how low is was. I hear it is deeper above 1960 is that true?

DG

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

no, above 1960 is just two river branches. The west branch is most likely very low, down to 1-4'. The east branch is usually 10-15' if you stay in the channel, but there are sandbars almost the entire way across the lake except for the two channels (see picture a few posts up, that is from the 1960 bridge facing north). It is even dryer, with much more sandbar than in the picture.

How was it out there when you went out?

I would guess if you stay down by the dam, you would be fine. And if you know where the channel is, you should be fine up to the skier's cove. But the sandbars just off the ramp are scaring me. I think if we go out, I will push the boat out past the sandbars then get in and start it up.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

OK, this has gotten out of hand. We drove over the lake today and they were driving motorcycles on what used to be the islands just north of the 1960 bridge. This is about 2 miles south of Kingwood, so apparently, they are getting on the shore at Kingwood and are able to drive motorcycles all the way down to the 1960 bridge on dry land, or slightly wet areas.

This is stuff that is usually accessible only by boat, and now motorcycles are driving up to it!!!

Here is where sandbars are. That bridge is 1960...

The photoshopped areas are the parts that are currently sandbars, compared to the photo'd islands in the original picture.

 

[62larkowner]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

lake conroe is just as bad id say down 5 feet atleast, i usualy launch my 14ft there at the end of fm 830 and cant even get in the boat from the dock nemore on the sides is usualy only about 5 feet of beach we r now up to about 20 feet of beach and sandbars EVERYwre in the lake, hell i bottomed out alot on fathersday when i took the kids out

 

[DayCruiser]

Re: What is happening to my lake? Lake Houston drying up! We need RAIN!!!

This looks promising for Texas. I wish it was us too LOL I was checking out http://www.wunderground.com/ forecast model. Now these models can change but at least one and probably more show a tropical system hitting Texas between the 20th and 30th of August. A lot more moisture is supposedly heading to the US at the end of August according to the long range forecast. I saw it grazing Florida and then heading Northwest. There are plenty of Tropical systems in the Atlantic and one is far enough south to keep a westward track? Just have to wait and see