Gulf Coast Gauges

Buffalo Bayou at W Belt Dr, Houston water level

USGS gauge 08073600 · Harris County · Buffalo Bayou watershed · NWS gauge WSBT2

35.20 ft

gage height, Oct 20, 2026 at 12:30 PM CDT · 65 minutes ago

Below NWS minor flood stage
27.0 ft
NWS action stage
59.2 ft
NWS minor flood stage
62.2 ft
NWS moderate flood stage
63.2 ft
NWS major flood stage
65.3 ft
Highest since 2010 (USGS)
71.23 ft (August 30, 2017)
Usual range
34.89 to 42.09 ft

USGS marks recent readings as provisional: they can be revised after review.

No National Weather Service alert covering Harris County was active when this page was generated (Oct 20, 2026 at 1:35 PM CDT). Alerts are issued and expire at any time; the current list is at alerts.weather.gov.

Last 7 days

34.9 38.5 42.1 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct 16 Oct 17 Oct 18 Oct 19 Oct 20

Hourly averages of USGS readings. The shaded band is this gauge's usual range: the middle 80% of its readings since September 11, 2026.

How to read this gauge

Gage height is the height of the water surface above the gauge's zero point. This gauge's zero is set at 0 ft NAVD88, so its gage height is the water surface elevation above that datum. It is not a water depth.

The flood stages are the National Weather Service's, on the same scale as the gage height; they are the NWS's references for this location, not estimates made here.

Daily highs and lows since September 11, 2026

34.7 38.7 42.7 2026-09-11 – 2026-10-20 · bars are daily low to high

Annual peaks since 1972

In 17 complete water years of comparable USGS records (since 2010), the highest peak was 71.23 ft on August 30, 2017. So far in water year 2027 (since October 1) the highest reading is 42.73 ft on October 7, 2026.

40 49 57 65 74 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 major 65.3 ft moderate 63.2 ft minor 62.2 ft action 59.2 ft Water year 1972: 62.15 ft on March 20, 1972 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1973: 61.47 ft on June 13, 1973 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1974: 54.33 ft on January 19, 1974 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1975: 55.52 ft on June 3, 1975 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1976: 54.89 ft on June 1, 1976 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1977: 52.23 ft on December 6, 1976 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1978: 60.34 ft on June 7, 1978 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1979: 61.28 ft on September 19, 1979 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1980: 53.72 ft on June 22, 1980 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1981: 64.58 ft on August 31, 1981 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1982: 51.69 ft on May 13, 1982 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1983: 61.48 ft on September 19, 1983 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1984: 53.12 ft on July 18, 1984 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1985: 58.98 ft on October 25, 1984 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1986: 57.44 ft on November 11, 1985 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1987: 54.99 ft on November 23, 1986 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1988: 53.25 ft on March 17, 1988 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1989: 63.32 ft on May 18, 1989 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1990: 54.09 ft on April 27, 1990 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1991: 54.27 ft on January 15, 1991 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1992: 68.30 ft on March 4, 1992 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1993: 60.09 ft on June 20, 1993 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1994: 53.58 ft on May 16, 1994 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1995: 59.74 ft on October 18, 1994 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1996: 53.39 ft on December 18, 1995 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1997: 58.17 ft on May 22, 1997 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1998: 61.18 ft on September 11, 1998 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 1999: 62.52 ft on March 19, 1999 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2000: 54.53 ft on April 12, 2000 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2001: 60.36 ft on March 28, 2001 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2002: 58.15 ft on April 8, 2002 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2003: 62.19 ft on October 29, 2002 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2004: 65.49 ft on November 17, 2003 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2005: 59.29 ft on November 23, 2004 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2006: 58.56 ft on December 14, 2005 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2007: 61.48 ft on October 16, 2006 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2008: 61.37 ft on September 13, 2008 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2009: 65.49 ft on April 28, 2009 (different datum or site: not compared) Water year 2010: 55.93 ft on July 2, 2010 Water year 2011: 50.48 ft on December 29, 2010 Water year 2012: 55.36 ft on January 9, 2012 Water year 2013: 54.70 ft on September 21, 2013 Water year 2014: 54.49 ft on May 28, 2014 Water year 2015: 65.00 ft on May 26, 2015 Water year 2016: 65.29 ft on April 18, 2016 Water year 2017: 71.23 ft on August 30, 2017 Water year 2018: 50.57 ft on February 10, 2018 Water year 2019: 59.34 ft on September 19, 2019 Water year 2020: 56.67 ft on September 22, 2020 Water year 2021: 51.10 ft on July 5, 2021 Water year 2022: 55.45 ft on January 9, 2022 Water year 2023: 49.85 ft on July 6, 2023 Water year 2024: 60.36 ft on July 8, 2024 Water year 2025: 52.80 ft on November 2, 2024 Water year 2026: 49.45 ft on May 23, 2026 Water year 2027 so far: 42.73 ft on October 7, 2026 2017

Each dot is the highest gage height of a water year (October to September), from the USGS annual peak record, with recent years USGS has not published yet taken from its 15-minute readings and this site's own; hover a dot for its date. Dashed lines are NWS flood stages. Grey hollow dots (38 years) were measured on a different datum or at a different site, or before the gauge's datum last changed, so they are shown but not compared.

NWS historic crests

DateCrestAbove minor flood stage
August 30, 201771.22 ft9.0 ft
March 4, 199268.30 ft6.1 ft
April 28, 200965.49 ft3.3 ft
April 18, 201665.29 ft3.1 ft
May 26, 201565.00 ft2.8 ft
September 19, 198361.48 ft—
September 13, 200859.10 ft—
July 18, 198453.12 ft—

The highest crests the National Weather Service lists for this gauge, as published. They can differ from the USGS annual peaks above: USGS records the year's highest gage height, which is not always the crest the NWS lists for the same flood.

In past storms

StormPeakPeak timeRiseCompared with its record
October 1–2, 202642.12 ftOct 2, 2026 at 2:30 AM CDT7.3 fthighest since water year 2026 (49.45 ft on May 23, 2026)

Harris County gauge nearby

Buffalo Bayou at West Beltway 8, less than 0.1 mi away, read 35.16 ft at Oct 20, 2026 at 11:17 AM CDT, 27.0 ft below its top of bank. Both gauges report water surface elevation.

Download the readings

buffalo-bayou-at-w-belt-dr-houston.csv (CSV): every reading stored for this gauge since September 11, 2026, 930 rows, with time in UTC and Central, gage height in feet, and the USGS approval status.

Source. Gage height from the U.S. Geological Survey; flood stages and historic crests from the NWS National Water Prediction Service. This site is not affiliated with either agency.