Tue May 19 New York (Lake Erie) & Ohio Storm

Meteorological Analysis

A major storm system rolled through the Steelhead Alley region starting on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 and lasting until Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The storm was active for approximately 12 hours, dumping a maximum of 0.90" of rain across affected zones. Geographically, the weather system impacted the New York (Lake Erie), Ohio regions, causing rapid water-level rises on multiple tributaries.

Gauges recorded significant river responses, particularly along Ashtabula River (peaking at 131 CFS), Conneaut Creek (peaking at 282 CFS), Vermilion River @ Vermilion (peaking at 463 CFS), Cuyahoga River @ Independence (peaking at 747 CFS), Brandy Run near Girard (peaking at 24 CFS), Cattaraugus Creek (peaking at 685 CFS), Chautauqua Creek (peaking at 35 CFS), Eighteen Mile Creek (peaking at 69 CFS), Huron River (peaking at 419 CFS), Black River (peaking at 241 CFS), Euclid Creek (peaking at 90 CFS), Canadaway Creek (peaking at 165 CFS), Silver Creek (peaking at 27 CFS), Buffalo Creek (peaking at 133 CFS), Cazenovia Creek (peaking at 292 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 'B'. Gaging observations were matched against NWS precipitation models to assess the forecasting margins, highlighting the variance in local rainfall amounts across the lake shores.