Captain’s Log — Saturday, September 12, 2026
Conditions on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Trenton → Georgian Bay, km 0–386.
Open water first: strong wind warning on Lake Simcoe; strong wind warning on Georgian Bay. If your day involves the crossing, check the marine forecast below before you commit to it.
Sturgeon Lake is the low spot on the system today at -15 cm (-6.0 in) against its usual level for this month. That doesn’t move the chart — it moves what’s under your keel.
All 40 locks and 12 bridges are showing operable on the Parks Canada feed.
Shoulder season. Traffic thins, lock hours start shrinking, and the nights get cold enough to matter.
On the water today
| Where | Now | Wind | Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trenton Lock 1 — Bay of Quinte |
Clear, 10.1°C | NE 3 kt (gust 21) | Sunny. |
| Peterborough Locks 19–21 — Otonabee |
Fog, 5.9°C | — | Sunny. |
| Fenelon Falls Locks 34–35 — Kawartha Lakes |
Fog, 5.9°C | — | Sunny. |
| Orillia Locks 41–42 — Simcoe/Couchiching |
8.2°C | NNE 2 kt (gust 17) | Mainly sunny. |
| Midland Lock 45 — Georgian Bay |
8.2°C | NNE 2 kt (gust 17) | Sunny. |
Sunrise 06:49, sunset 19:30 at Peterborough (Eastern).
Seasonal normal for the date: Low 9. High 20.
Open water — Simcoe and Georgian Bay
The two stretches on the waterway where the forecast actually decides your day.
Lake Simcoe
⚠ Strong wind warning — in effect.
- Wind: Wind light becoming south 10 knots near noon then veering to southwest 10 this evening. Wind increasing to northwest 15 late overnight then diminishing to west 10 Sunday morning. Wind increasing to west 15 Sunday afternoon and to northwest 20 Sunday evening.
- Weather: Scattered showers tonight with a risk of thunderstorms. Scattered showers Sunday evening.
- Covers: Today Tonight and Sunday.
Observed at the buoy, Sep 12, 2026 4:00 am ET: SSE 7.8 kt, seas 0.3 m (1 ft) at a 2-second period, water 20.8 °C.
Georgian Bay
⚠ Strong wind warning — in effect.
- Wind: Wind south 15 knots veering to southwest 15 this afternoon then to northwest 15 this evening. Wind backing to west 15 Sunday morning then increasing to west 20 Sunday afternoon. Wind veering to northwest 25 Sunday evening.
- Waves: Waves 0.5 metres or less building to 0.5 to 1 early this morning and to 1 to 1.5 Sunday evening.
- Weather: Scattered showers this evening with a risk of thunderstorms. Scattered showers Sunday evening.
- Covers: Today Tonight and Sunday.
Along the waterway
Reported in the corridor over the last few days. Headlines are the publishers’ own — follow the link for the current state of any story, since these move faster than a daily post can.
- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy arrives in North Bay (6 photos) — OrilliaMatters, Sep 11
- Lakelands Public Health And Community Partners Offer Reduced-Cost Rabies Clinic — Kawartha 411, Sep 9
Water levels
Each gauge is compared against its own historical average for this month. The deviation is the number that matters — gauge datum is not chart datum, so the reading itself won’t tell you a depth, but the change from normal tells you how today compares to a typical day this time of year.
| Gauge | Pool | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trenton | Bay of Quinte to Lock 1 | -2 cm (-0.7 in) | 🔵 |
| Lower Glen Ross | Lock 6 to Lock 8 Pool | +4 cm (+1.7 in) | 🔵 |
| Upper Glen Ross | Lock 8 to Lock 11 Pool | -2 cm (-0.9 in) | 🔵 |
| Crowe River | Crowe River Tributary | +26 cm (+10.0 in) | 🟢 |
| Indian River | Indian River to Rice Lake | +0 cm (+0.2 in) | 🔵 |
| Otonabee / Peterborough | Rice Lake to Lock 20 Pool | +3 cm (+1.1 in) | 🔵 |
| Sturgeon Lake | Sturgeon Lake / Fenelon Falls Pool | -15 cm (-6.0 in) | 🔴 |
| Burnt River | Burnt River to Balsam Lake | +24 cm (+9.3 in) | 🟢 |
| Gull River | Gull River to Balsam Lake | +13 cm (+5.0 in) | 🟢 |
| Head River | Head River to Lake Simcoe | +17 cm (+6.5 in) | 🟢 |
| Severn / Couchiching | Lake Couchiching Outflow | +16 cm (+6.4 in) | 🟢 |
| Wasdell Falls | Sparrow Lake to Big Chute Pool | +2 cm (+0.6 in) | 🔵 |
🔴 more than 10 cm low · 🟠 5–10 cm low · 🔵 within 5 cm of normal · 🟢 above normal. Live readings and 30-day charts →
Locks and bridges
All 40 locks and 12 bridges on the Parks Canada feed are reporting operable.
Parks Canada status last synced 2026-09-12 05:00:03 ET.
Sécurité — navigational warnings
No new warnings in the last seven days.
Sources: Environment and Climate Change Canada (weather, marine and hydrometric data, Open Government Licence — Canada); Parks Canada Trent-Severn Waterway lockstation status; Canadian Coast Guard NAVWARNs; regional news headlines as published and linked to their sources. Water gauge readings are on assumed datum and are not chart datum.
This is not a substitute for official sources. Conditions change faster than any daily post. Check Parks Canada before you travel and carry current charts.
Compiled 2026-09-12 06:00 ET from live feeds.