Low Lime Drift Plain

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport recorded a mean daily high of 70.1°F, 3.9°F above normal, over the past 30 days through October 22. Persistent above-normal temperatures continue from the warm pattern noted in late summer and early autumn.

American Toads remained active through mid-October, with observations recorded on 2026-10-15 and continuing through late September. This autumn activity represents their pre-hibernation movement as they seek overwintering refugia in soil and leaf litter.

Cuyahoga County entered abnormally dry conditions for the first time in two months, with 72.75% of the county classified as D0 or worse in the week of 2026-10-20 to 2026-10-26. The sudden transition from normal conditions in early September signals a rapid drying trend that may stress late-season activity in terrestrial and aquatic fauna.

New England aster was observed flowering on October 12, 2026, and phenology records from October 15 show the species with open flowers. This fall-blooming native is at the expected stage for mid-October, sustained by mean daily high temperatures 3.9°F above normal over the past 30 days.

ODE Development, which operates Columbia Hills Golf and Swim Club, missed a compliance schedule deadline by more than 90 days and is in Significant Non-Compliance. The facility was required to meet a specific compliance milestone but failed to do so within the permitted timeframe.

Alomega Builders holds an active Clean Water Act permit but did not submit its required discharge monitoring report, placing it in Significant Non-Compliance with its permit. The facility's failure to self-report monitoring data prevents EPA from verifying compliance with its effluent limits.

Cuyahoga County remains free of drought classification as of September 15-21, with no part of the county in any drought category. This drought-free status has held steady for at least the past month.

Over the past 30 days, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport recorded a mean daily high of 79.5°F, 2.1°F above normal, and a mean daily low of 63.4°F, 3.9°F above normal. Both departures reflect an unusually warm late summer and early autumn, with the warmest day reaching 93°F on September 2.

Caddisflies were recorded 12 times in the past 30 days across the watershed, with the most recent observation on 2026-09-16 in Parma. Caddisfly larvae are pollution-sensitive organisms requiring cool, oxygen-rich water, and their continued presence indicates reaches with adequate water quality for their survival.

Two wastewater treatment plants operated by the City of Strongsville have been discharging ammonia into the East Branch Rocky River system at levels that have worsened every quarter for a full year, and the trend line is unambiguous. Plant C exceeded its ammonia limit by 79 percent in the quarter ending last September, then 131 percent, then 256 percent, and now 351 percent as of this July. Plant B shows the same climb on a slightly offset schedule: 74 percent over in December, 195 percent in March, 326 percent by July. This is not a single slip or a one-off exceedance; it is a documented, four-quarter escalation at both facilities simultaneously. Both plants discharge into a stream system already under stress. Baldwin Creek and the headwaters of the East Branch Rocky River are listed among the state's impaired waters, meaning they have already failed to meet basic water quality standards and are awaiting a formal cleanup plan. Ammonia loading onto a stream in that condition is a problem on two fronts: at elevated concentrations it is directly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates, and as it nitrifies, the breakdown process consumes dissolved oxygen that those same organisms depend on. The nearby stream gauges on the East Branch and on Baldwin Creek carry no ammonia or oxygen sensors, so there is no direct in-stream reading of how this loading is manifesting once it reaches the water. That data gap matters more than usual here, given that the violations are landing during the low-flow stretch of summer, when a stream has the least volume available to dilute an ammonia load and the least buffer against oxygen depletion. A four-quarter escalating trend, on an already-impaired segment, arriving at the time of year when the river can least absorb it, is a combination worth watching closely in the seasons ahead.