🌊 The Falls

Friday, February 20, 2026

All the news that’s fit to get wet

☁️ Weather — Because the Sky Has Opinions

🇺🇸 Niagara Falls, NY

Currently: 43°F and cloudy — basically February’s personality in meteorological form.

Day High Precip Today (Fri) 43°F 75% chance of rain 🌧️ Saturday 34°F 35% chance of snow ❄️ Sunday 34°F 40% chance of snow ❄️ Monday 30°F 35% chance of snow ❄️ Tuesday 26°F 20% chance of snow ❄️

So: enjoy today’s warm-ish rain, because the weekend is going to remind you that February is not done with us. Dress accordingly — or just stay inside and look at the Falls through a window like a sensible person.

🔗 Full NWS Forecast for Niagara Falls, NY

🇨🇦 Niagara Falls, ON

Currently: 6°C and mostly cloudy. A Special Weather Statement is in effect — strong southwest winds gusting to 80 km/h expected this afternoon as a cold front passes through. Secure your lawn furniture, your patio umbrellas, and anyone under 50 lbs.

Day High Precip Today (Fri) +5°C Rain, then flurries — 75% chance 🌧️❄️ Saturday +1°C 30% chance of flurries ❄️ Sunday +1°C 40% chance of flurries ❄️ Monday -1°C 30% chance of flurries ❄️ Tuesday -3°C Cloudy periods — looking relatively reasonable, honestly

Environment Canada notes the wind could cause local utility outages this afternoon. Basically: charge your devices, tie down your recycling bins, and apologize in advance to your neighbours for the things that are about to fly into their yards.

🔗 Environment Canada Forecast — Niagara Falls, ON

🦅 NY Side News

1. Canadian Manufacturer Plants Its Flag on Hyde Park Boulevard

A Toronto-area metal fabrication company, Metal Craft Spinning and Stamping Ltd. — Canada’s largest metal spinner, which apparently is a thing — is expanding into a 24,760-square-foot facility in Niagara Falls, NY, investing $1.3 million and planning to hire up to 17 local workers. The Etobicoke-based firm says roughly 70% of its clients are already in the U.S., so moving a base across the river just makes logistical sense. Empire State Development backed the deal. In the ongoing saga of Canada–U.S. trade relations, this Canadian company coming south to create American jobs is either heartwarming or deeply ironic, depending on your current tariff situation. (Buffalo Toronto Public Media)

2. City Council Extends Short-Term Rental Watchdog Contract

The Niagara Falls City Council has approved a three-year extension of its contract with a firm hired to monitor compliance with the city’s Short-Term Rental ordinance. Because if there’s one thing a tourist town needs, it’s someone keeping an eye on whether that “cozy falls-view suite” on Airbnb actually has a permit — or is just someone’s basement with a Ring doorbell. (Niagara Gazette)

3. Pothole Season Has Officially Opened for Business

According to the Niagara Express, pothole season is here — which, if you’ve driven on any city street this week, you already knew. The thaw-freeze cycle is doing what it always does: turning Niagara Falls’ road network into a free suspension-testing service. Residents can report potholes to the city’s 311 system online, by phone, or by text. Or they can just describe their morning commute to anyone within earshot. (Niagara Express, City of Niagara Falls NY — 311)

4. Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Elects 2026 Officers, Names New Commissioner

The bi-national body that keeps the Rainbow, Whirlpool, and Lewiston-Queenston bridges from becoming very expensive art installations has elected its 2026 leadership. Lindsay DiCosimo Merani of Ontario chairs the board; Frank Soda of New York is Vice Chair. Separately, Premier Ford has appointed Brad Sutherland of Toronto — an Air Canada business development director and meetings-industry advocate — as the newest Canadian commissioner. It’s a refreshingly smooth bit of cross-border cooperation, which feels worth noting in current times. (Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, Niagara Gazette)

5. Niagara County Childcare Waitlist Grows Amid Federal Funding Uncertainty

Families seeking childcare assistance in Niagara County are facing a growing waitlist after the county’s Department of Social Services was left short on state funding — and a federal funding freeze from the Trump administration has added fresh worry about social services statewide. New York Attorney General Letitia James has won a court order blocking the freeze on $10 billion in childcare and family assistance funds, but the situation remains unsettled. For local families already on the waitlist, it’s cold comfort either way. (Niagara Gazette, NY AG Press Release)

6. Destination Niagara USA Marks a Tourism Milestone

Destination Niagara USA, the region’s tourism promotion arm, is joining destinations worldwide in celebrating something — the Gazette’s full story is behind a paywall, but the gist is: yes, people still want to come see a very large amount of water falling, even in February, even in the wind. Good to know. (Niagara Gazette)

🍁 Ontario Side News

1. Court Puts the Brakes on Royal George Theatre Demolition — Temporarily

In what has become Niagara-on-the-Lake’s most dramatic heritage saga in recent memory, an Ontario court has issued a stay on the demolition of the Shaw Festival’s Royal George Theatre and its box office, pending a ruling expected before the end of February. A Niagara-based builder, Centurion Building Corporation, launched a judicial review alleging the town didn’t properly follow the Ontario Heritage Act and Planning Act before clearing the project. The wrinkle: Shaw started demolishing two adjacent Victorian houses before the stay was issued, while the court had already indicated the matter was urgent. The festival says it followed all proper procedures and has agreed to the temporary pause. Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa is worried about delays to the $35-million rebuild. A final court ruling is expected any day now. Everyone in NOTL is very politely stressed about this. (Buffalo Toronto Public Media, Niagara Now)

2. Niagara Falls ON Gets 39 Affordable Homes — for Women Who Need Them Most

The federal government announced $9.8 million to convert a former motel into “Falls Manor,” 39 secure rental units for women and gender-diverse people who have experienced homelessness. The project pairs housing with skills development and employment support — wrap-around services intended to help residents build stability well beyond their stay. In a region where tourism keeps hotel rates high and affordable housing scarce, this kind of conversion is exactly the creative thinking the community has been asking for. (CMHC)

3. Salt Shortage: Niagara Falls ON Is Rationing — and Mixing In Sand

Ontario’s province-wide road salt shortage has hit Niagara Falls hard. The city says it won’t receive its full annual salt supply due to high demand, a brutally snowy winter, and supply chain problems affecting the whole continent. The solution: mixing salt with sand, a time-honoured tradition that keeps traction adequate even when pure salt runs out. The irony that the world’s largest underground salt mine is in Goderich, Ontario, while Ontario municipalities scramble for the stuff, has not been lost on anyone. (City of Niagara Falls ON, Thorold Today)

4. Mayor Diodati Chats Potholes, Playtopia, and the Art Gallery on Morning TV

Niagara Falls ON Mayor Jim Diodati stopped by CHCH Morning Live on Thursday to talk about what’s happening in the city right now — including potholes (yes, they have them too), the recently opened Playtopia indoor playground, and developments at the local art scene. It’s peak late-winter civic boosterism and we are here for it. Both sides of the river are united, it turns out, in their shared hatred of potholes. (CHCH Morning Live)

5. The Falls Encased in Ice — Best Formations in a Decade

If you haven’t gotten out to see it yet, do it today before the wind and rain do their worst: the extreme cold snap earlier this month produced ice formations on and around Niagara Falls that CTV describes as the most dramatic in roughly a decade. Sheets of ice, frozen mist sculptures, and an eerie otherworldly glow have been drawing visitors who may have initially questioned the wisdom of February tourism. They were wrong. (CTV News)

6. Niagara-on-the-Lake: Pickleball Still on Ice (No Pun Intended)

The sound of pickleball paddles won’t return to Virgil Sports Park this spring, as the long-running noise complaint dispute that previously triggered a two-year ban on play at those courts shows no sign of resolution. For a sport that has managed to antagonize suburbanites from coast to coast, this is perhaps not surprising — but it’s cold comfort for NOTL’s pickleball community, who continue to search for somewhere to legally go pop pop pop in peace. (Niagara Now)

📅 Events — What’s On This Weekend & Beyond

🇺🇸 NY Side

• Fri–Sun, Feb 20–22 — Greater Niagara Fishing Expo, Niagara Falls Convention Center — 100+ booths, 300+ hours of fishing education. NY’s largest fishing show.
• Fri–Mon, Feb 20–23 — Falls Illumination, Niagara Falls State Park — Nightly 5:30pm–1am. Free to watch from the park.
• Fri–Sun, Feb 20–22 — Cave of the Winds, Goat Island — Open 9am–4pm. Adult $14, Youth $10.
• Fri–Sun, Feb 20–22 — Niagara Falls Aquarium, Niagara Falls — Open 9am–5pm. Adult $25, Youth $18.
• Fri–Sun, Feb 20–22 — Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown — Open Wed–Sun 10am–4pm. Adult $21, Youth $13.
• Daily — Niagara Power Vista, Lewiston — Open 9am–5pm. Free admission.

🇨🇦 Ontario Side

• Fri–Mon, Feb 20–23 — Falls Illumination, Queen Victoria Park — Nightly. Same great Falls, metric lighting. Free.
• Daily — Niagara Parks Power Station & Tunnel Tour, Niagara Falls ON — Open 10am–5pm. Adult $33, Child $21.50.
• Daily — Journey Behind the Falls, Niagara Falls ON — Open daily. Adult $28, Child $18.50.
• Daily — Butterfly Conservatory, Niagara Falls ON — Open 9am–5pm. Adult $25, Child $16.50.
• Sat–Sun, Feb 21–22 — Heartland Forest WinterFest, Niagara Falls ON — Outdoor winter fun in the forest. Check city website for details.
• Wed, Feb 26 — Redefining Beauty Health & Wellness Symposium, Niagara Falls ON — See city website for details.
• Ongoing — The Exchange — Anthropocene Exhibition, Niagara Falls History Museum — Runs through July 19. Worth a rainy-day visit.
• Ongoing — Shaw Festival 2026 Season, Niagara-on-the-Lake — Funny Girl, Amadeus, Sleuth and more — Royal George situation notwithstanding.

🌉 Across the Border

This week, both sides of the Niagara River are dealing with the same essential problem: the ground keeps freezing, thawing, and freezing again, and it is absolutely destroying every road surface within a 30-kilometre radius. On the American side, pothole season has been officially declared. On the Canadian side, they’re running out of the salt to patch the aftermath. Meanwhile, the Falls themselves are apparently more spectacular than they’ve been in a decade, caked in ice formations that have stopped tourists cold — in every sense.

Both cities are also wrestling with housing. Niagara Falls NY is keeping an eye on Airbnb compliance; Niagara Falls ON just converted a motel into housing for women escaping homelessness. And both cities share a bridge commission that, in a quietly remarkable display of binational normalcy, just held a vote, elected officers, and appointed new commissioners without incident. In 2026, that counts as news.

See you on both sides of the river. Dress warm. Watch for gusts. And if a recycling bin blows across the Rainbow Bridge today, we’re calling it a trade dispute.

🌊 The Falls — “We cover both sides so you don’t have to cross in this weather.”