Grand River at Painesville, OH

River level and flood forecast · Lake County

Normal1.6 ftas of Mon 3 PM

The river is 10.9 ft below flood stage (12.5 ft).

Forecast to hold near 1.6 ft through Sat, Oct 17, 8 AM.

Flow: 23 cubic feet per second (USGS).

The last 7 days and the forecast

NWS forecast issued Mon, Oct 12, 10:54 AM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.

Flood stages

Major flood stage	17 ft
Moderate flood stage	15 ft
Flood stage	12.5 ft
Action stage	8 ft
Record crest (July 28, 2006)	19.35 ft

What floods at each level

From the National Weather Service, highest first.

28 ftOld river gage house near Beaty Landing lower parking lot flooded. Historic flooding along the river. Major damage to property in low lying areas.
19.5 ftRecord flooding. Major flooding in the City of Painesville. Route 2 and the Richmond Street bridges will be flooded. Homes and businesses along Steele and Grand River Avenues, as well as Huntington Road will be completely inundated. The City of Painesville Pollution Control Plant will be flooded.
19 ftFEMA 0.2 percent flood level. Major flooding in the City of Painesville. Route 2 and the Richmond Street bridges will be flooded. Homes and business along Steele and Grand River Avenue, as well as Huntington Road will be completely inundated. The City of Painesville Pollution Control Plant will be flooded.
17 ftFEMA 1 percent flood level. Steele and Grand River Avenues completely flooded. Painesville City Pollution Control Plant inundated. Kiwanis recreational park will be flooded. Rising water may inundate businesses near the Route 20 bridge.
16 ftSteele and Grand River Avenues flooded with evacuations needed. Painesville City Pollution Control Plant threatened. Kiwanis recreational park will begin to flood.
15 ftRiver near bankful along Grand River and Steele Avenues. Homes and apartments threatened.
13 ftYacht club near mouth of the river threatened by flood waters.
8.5 ftLow land flooding adjacent to the river in the metropark.
8 ftWater levels will overrun the banks along the metropark south of Painesville.

Highest crests on record

19.35 ft — July 28, 2006
13.7 ft — February 6, 2008
13.27 ft — October 30, 2012
13.25 ft — February 28, 2011
13.16 ft — December 25, 1979

Recent crests: 10.59 ft (May 6, 2025) · 9.75 ft (August 25, 2023) · 11.34 ft (February 23, 2022) · 9.64 ft (July 17, 2021) · 10.91 ft (October 21, 2020)

Up and down the river, and nearby

See it on the live map →Radar & warnings for Lake County NWS gauge page USGS gauge 04212100

Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (PNVO1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.