How statuses work
TexasGlance summarises official public data. It is not an emergency service and it never replaces official warnings. If you are in danger, call 911.
The colour scale
| Colour | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Normal | Nothing that needs your attention. |
| Yellow | Mostly normal | Worth keeping an eye on: advisories, gauges near flood stage, a storm being monitored. |
| Orange | Be aware | Could affect you: NWS watches, minor flooding, conservation appeals, unhealthy air for sensitive groups. |
| Red | Take action | Real, current risk: NWS warnings, moderate or major flooding, grid emergencies. |
| Gray | Unavailable | We could not load this source. Check the official source directly. |
The overall status at the top of the page is the most serious of the items below it. We reserve red for situations where your area is genuinely under threat.
Each item
| Item | How we decide |
|---|---|
| Weather alerts | Active National Weather Service alerts for your county. Warnings with severe or extreme severity are red; other warnings and all watches are orange; advisories and statements are yellow. |
| Flooding | NOAA river and bayou gauges near you, using each gauge's official flood categories. Near flood stage is yellow, minor flooding orange, moderate or major flooding red. |
| Power grid | ERCOT's statewide grid condition. Normal is green, watches and advisories yellow, conservation appeals orange, energy emergencies red. |
| Tropics | National Hurricane Center storms, plus NWS tropical alerts for your county. Red only when NWS has tropical alerts for your county. Orange when a storm is within about 250 miles of a coastal area. Yellow when a storm is in the Gulf (for coastal areas) or within about 600 miles. Distance alone never turns this red. Always check the official forecast cone. |
| Air quality | EPA AirNow's current AQI using EPA categories: Good green, Moderate yellow, Unhealthy for sensitive groups orange, Unhealthy and worse red. |
| Heat | Heat index from the NWS hourly forecast (temperature and humidity), using NWS heat categories: 90 to 102°F yellow, 103 to 124°F orange, 125°F and above red. |
| Cold | Forecast low: 32°F or below yellow, 25°F or below orange, 15°F or below red. |
| Flood gauge trend | Each gauge's latest reading compared with the one before it. A change of 0.1 ft or more is rising or falling; less is steady. Flood stage is the level where NOAA says minor flooding starts at that gauge. Rising arrows turn orange when a gauge is within 3 ft of flood stage or already above it. |
| Rain, next 24 hours | Forecast rain amount from the National Weather Service grid forecast. Under 1 inch is light or moderate; 1 to 2 inches heavy (yellow); 2 to 4 inches very heavy (orange); more than 4 inches extreme (red). Heavy rain can flood streets before any gauge rises. |
| UV index | EPA's hourly UV forecast for the place's ZIP code (when the EPA service is down, an estimate from the sun's height and the forecast cloud cover, marked "est."): 0 to 2 low, 3 to 5 moderate (yellow), 6 to 10 high to very high (orange), 11 and above extreme (red). The UV index is shown for planning and does not change the overall status. |
| Sunrise, sunset and moon | Calculated in your browser from the place's location and the date using standard astronomical formulas. Accurate to about a minute. |
| Commutes and outdoor plans | Rain and thunderstorm chances from the NWS hourly forecast for 6 to 9 am and 4 to 7 pm, and for the next 12 hours. Active NWS warnings and flooding gauges override the forecast. |
When a source is down
Each source is fetched separately every few minutes. If one fails, we keep showing its last good update, label it delayed with the time it was last updated, and the rest of the page keeps working. Click the update indicator at the top of the page to see every source's status.
Data sources
- Weather, forecasts and alerts: National Weather Service
- River and bayou gauges: NOAA National Water Prediction Service
- Tropical storms: National Hurricane Center
- Power grid: ERCOT
- Air quality: EPA AirNow
- Radar: NEXRAD via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet
Sponsors and advertising are always labelled and kept separate from safety information. Sponsors have no influence on any status.