Moderate Storm Jul 2, 2026 - Jul 3, 2026

Thu July 2-3 New York (Lake Ontario) & Ohio Storm

Jul 2-3 Alley front -- 0.4" delivered, Johnson Creek peaked +14hrs as expected.

July 2-3 New York (Lake Ontario) & Ohio Storm Card

Meteorological Analysis

A moderate storm system rolled through the Steelhead Alley region starting on Thursday, July 2, 2026 and lasting until Friday, July 3, 2026. The storm was active for approximately 2 hours, dumping a maximum of 0.43" of rain across affected zones. Geographically, the weather system impacted the New York (Lake Ontario), Ohio regions, causing rapid water-level rises on multiple tributaries.

Gauges recorded significant river responses, particularly along Eighteenmile Creek (Niagara) (peaking at 61 CFS), Irondequoit Creek (peaking at 83 CFS), Sandy Creek (Hamlin) (peaking at 51 CFS), Sandy Creek (Adams) (peaking at 313 CFS), Salmon River (peaking at 252 CFS), Black River (Watertown) (peaking at 3,270 CFS), Genesee River (peaking at 824 CFS), Ashtabula River (peaking at 16 CFS), Rocky River near Berea (peaking at 89 CFS), Conneaut Creek (peaking at 20 CFS), Vermilion River @ Vermilion (peaking at 37 CFS), Grand River near Painesville (peaking at 49 CFS), Cuyahoga River @ Independence (peaking at 335 CFS), Brandy Run near Girard (peaking at 1 CFS), Huron River (peaking at 47 CFS), Black River (peaking at 25 CFS), Euclid Creek (peaking at 8 CFS), Chagrin River @ Willoughby (peaking at 9 CFS), Oak Orchard Creek (peaking at 774 CFS), Johnson Creek (peaking at 75 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.