Moderate Storm Sep 25, 2026 - Sep 27, 2026

Fri September 25-27 New York (Lake Ontario) & Ohio & Pennsylvania Storm

Sep 25-27 Alley front -- 0.0" delivered, Johnson Creek peaked +14hrs as expected.

September 25-27 New York (Lake Ontario) & Ohio & Pennsylvania Storm Card

Meteorological Analysis

A moderate storm system rolled through the Steelhead Alley region starting on Friday, September 25, 2026 and lasting until Sunday, September 27, 2026. The storm was active for approximately 48 hours, dumping a maximum of 0.00" of rain across affected zones. Geographically, the weather system impacted the New York (Lake Ontario), Ohio, Pennsylvania regions, causing rapid water-level rises on multiple tributaries.

Gauges recorded significant river responses, particularly along Sandy Creek (Hamlin) (peaking at 82 CFS), Irondequoit Creek (peaking at 63 CFS), Black River (Watertown) (peaking at 1,230 CFS), Twenty Mile Creek (peaking at 18 CFS), Sandy Creek (Adams) (peaking at 24 CFS), Elk Creek (peaking at 10 CFS), Crooked Creek (peaking at 4 CFS), Salmon River (peaking at 224 CFS), Walnut Creek (peaking at 11 CFS), Ashtabula River (peaking at 10 CFS), Grand River near Painesville (peaking at 85 CFS), Brandy Run near Girard (peaking at 1 CFS), Black River (peaking at 47 CFS), Cuyahoga River @ Independence (peaking at 476 CFS), Vermilion River @ Vermilion (peaking at 23 CFS), Conneaut Creek (peaking at 13 CFS), Huron River (peaking at 46 CFS), Euclid Creek (peaking at 7 CFS), Rocky River near Berea (peaking at 104 CFS), Eighteenmile Creek (Niagara) (peaking at 85 CFS), Chagrin River @ Willoughby (peaking at 54 CFS), Oak Orchard Creek (peaking at 750 CFS), Genesee River (peaking at 1,340 CFS), Johnson Creek (peaking at 91 CFS). Angling conditions deteriorated quickly during the peak flow periods, leading to temporary washouts. Gaging stations monitored the recovery times as flows began returning to their baselines, mapping out the best windows for fishermen to get back on the water.

From a weather prediction standpoint, the NWS forecasts for this event received an aggregate score card grade of 'A'. Gaging observations were matched against NWS precipitation models to assess the forecasting margins, highlighting the variance in local rainfall amounts across the lake shores.