Surfs Up!!
Fred - Thanks for the cautionary note. Yes, tides in Palacios and Matagorda are
running high with water over many of the piers and up to our bulkhead, though
not in the yard yet.
I drove over to Matagorda beach this afternoon and the water was up to the
dunes and rising. I’d expect most beaches (and some low lying roads) along the
middle to upper coast will be undriveable for a few days. Some brave souls had
driven along the edge of the dunes and were enjoying the conditions. Not
recommended.
There were a few shorebirds huddled around freshwater puddles near the beach
and lots of waders were visible in the marsh along the approach road. Gull and
Tern numbers and diversity were about what I’d expect for this time of year. I
expected the high water to have pushed rails up to the shoulder of the road but
I saw none. A Whimbrel and Bronze Cowbird were nice but nothing really unusual
blown in off the GOM, yet.
Good birding,
Bob Friedrichs
Palacios
Sent from Bob's iPhone
On Oct 8, 2018, at 4:19 PM, Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)
<FCollins@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
In case you were headed to Bolivar in the next few days, this from Jeff
Linder of Harris County Flood Control:
Coastal Flood Advisory has been issued for the middle and upper TX coast into
Wednesday.
Combination of typical early Fall high tides and the arrival of large long
period swells from Hurricane Michael over the SE Gulf of Mexico will result
in elevated tides along the upper TX coast into Wednesday and possibly
Thursday. Tides are already running 1-2 feet above normal today due to
sustained ESE fetch of wind off the Gulf over the weekend and lunar high tide
cycles. Starting Tuesday and peaking early Wednesday large swells with
periods of 11-14 seconds will begin to arrive along the upper TX coast from
Hurricane Michael. These large swells will result in water level pile up
along the beaches and some tidal trapping of already elevated tides. These
factors will likely push total water levels along the coast into the 3.5-4.0
foot range which is getting close to or in some areas exceeding advisory
criteria especially on Bolivar. Would expect some overwash of low lying marsh
and coastal beach access areas during high tides and potentially impacting
HWY 87 on the east end of Bolivar. With Galveston and Matagorda Bays tides
will likely remain below 4.5 foot levels which usually start to result in
concerns, but could see some coastal flooding in the typical low lying areas
in SE Harris County around the Lynchburg Ferry Landing, Shoreacres and
Seabrook.
Fred Collins, Director
Kleb Woods Nature Center
20303 Draper Road,Tomball TX 77377
281-357-5324
Harris County Precinct 3
Steve Radack Commissioner
www.pct3.com
