
Harris County Flood Warning System gauge 380 · Sims Bayou · Sims Bayou watershed
water surface elevation, Oct 20, 2026 at 11:26 AM CDT · 39 minutes ago
Of the 419 readings stored for this gauge, 1.7% were lower than the reading above. The closest this gauge has come to its top of bank in that period is 17.4 ft.
Text as issued by NWS Houston/Galveston.
Hourly averages of readings as published. The shaded band is this gauge's usual range: the middle 80% of its readings since Sep 11. This gauge reports about every 138 minutes, and only when its value changes, so gaps in the line are normal.
| Time | Level | Below top of bank |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 11:00 AM CDT | 26.26 ft | 23.9 ft |
| Oct 20, 10:00 AM CDT | 26.24 ft | 24.0 ft |
| Oct 20, 7:00 AM CDT | 26.33 ft | 23.9 ft |
| Oct 20, 3:00 AM CDT | 26.40 ft | 23.8 ft |
| Oct 19, 11:00 PM CDT | 26.41 ft | 23.8 ft |
| Oct 19, 7:00 PM CDT | 26.36 ft | 23.8 ft |
| Oct 19, 3:00 PM CDT | 26.32 ft | 23.9 ft |
| Oct 19, 11:00 AM CDT | 26.29 ft | 23.9 ft |
| Oct 19, 7:00 AM CDT | 26.32 ft | 23.9 ft |
| Oct 19, 3:00 AM CDT | 26.37 ft | 23.8 ft |
The number above is an elevation, not a water depth. It is the height of the water surface above mean sea level, so Hiram-Clarke Road reads around 26 ft even when the channel is low. What matters is the distance to the top of bank: the elevation at which water reaches the top of the channel at this location. For this gauge that is 50.2 ft.
The bottom of the channel here sits at 25.5 ft, so the channel is roughly 24.7 ft deep at this crossing. Harris County publishes the top-of-bank figure with each reading; it is their reference, not an estimate made here.
sims-bayou-at-hiram-clarke-road.csv (CSV): every reading stored for this gauge since September 11, 2026, 419 rows, updated with this page. Columns: time in UTC, time in Central, water surface elevation, top of bank, and distance below top of bank, all in feet. The source and accuracy notes below apply to the file too.
HOAs, MUDs, civic clubs and schools can show this gauge's latest reading on their own site. Paste this HTML where it should appear; the card updates with this page. More gauges.
| Storm | Peak | Peak time | Rise | Below bank at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1–2, 2026 | 32.84 ft | Oct 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM CDT | 6.4 ft | 17.4 ft |
Storms are runs of National Weather Service flood alerts for Harris County; each storm page lists every gauge's peak.
Readings from the rest of the Sims Bayou gauge network, each at its own most recent reading. Elevations fall as the channel runs downstream, so compare the below top of bank column rather than the raw levels.
| Crossing | Level | Below top of bank | Reading taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| SH 288 | 14.73 ft | 29.8 ft | Oct 20, 2026 at 11:26 AM CDT |
| Martin Luther King Road | 5.07 ft | 29.4 ft | Oct 20, 2026 at 11:24 AM CDT |
| Telephone Road | 2.15 ft | 24.1 ft | Oct 20, 2026 at 11:24 AM CDT |
Sims Bayou at Hiram Clarke St, Houston (USGS 08075400), less than 0.1 mi away, read 26.26 ft at Oct 20, 2026 at 11:15 AM CDT. Its zero is at 0 ft NAVD88, so it also reports water surface elevation.
All gauges in this watershed: Sims Bayou watershed water levels.