INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cuyahoga River reached historic levels on Labor Day after torrential rains soaked most of Northeast Ohio—causing widespread flooding, downed trees and power outages.
The National Weather Service reported stage levels of the river measured 20.88 feet at Independence during the peak of Monday’s storms, almost reaching the "major flood" stage of 21 feet.
Monday’s river levels made it on the top 10 historic crest levels in recent years, with the last time it reached historic levels being in March when Northeast Ohio experienced heavy flooding. As of Tuesday, the stage of the Cuyahoga River at Independence measures at around 12.82 feet.
Historic crests before this weekend:
- (1) 23.29 ft on 06/23/2006
- (2) 22.73 ft on 02/28/2011
- (3) 22.41 ft on 01/22/1959
- (4) 22.06 ft on 09/15/1979
- (5) 21.77 ft on 12/30/1990
- (6) 21.66 ft on 05/22/2004
- (7) 21.62 ft on 03/29/2020 (P) (preliminary values)
- (8) 21.12 ft on 07/22/2003
- (9) 20.83 ft on 04/16/2018
- (10) 20.70 ft on 02/17/1976
When the National Weather Service updates this list, the Labor Day 2020 preliminary level will be No. 9 all-time, thus book-ending this summer with historical river levels.
The Power of 5 Weather Team recorded between 4 to 5 inches of rainfall Monday. Most of Northeast Ohio was under a Flash Flood Warning for most of the day as roads quickly turned into rivers.
RELATED: Drivers stranded after torrential Labor Day rains prompts widespread flash flooding
Read and watch the latest Power of 5 forecast here.
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