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Alston water level

River gauge, River South Tyne, Cumbria, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.26m Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 2 3 Highest onrecord 2.85 m Lowest on record 0.10 m

History

History
0.20.40.60.8mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.20.40.60.8mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Bottom of normal range
12mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 11Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range12mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-012mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-012mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.51.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.51.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

The River South Tyne at Alston is running below normal at 0.26 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.34 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.09 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.18 m, a difference of +0.08 m.

It has dropped 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 0.21 m and 1.13 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
0.34 m0.09 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.20 m – 0.77 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.16 m – 1.90 m
Same day last year
0.18 m+0.08 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.21 m – 1.13 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.10 m – 0.96 m
Highest on record
2.85 mMay 18, 2013
Lowest on record
0.10 mAugust 11, 1995

Fishing and paddling

At low levels, many rivers become a walk-and-paddle trip. Fish hold in deeper pools and spook easily.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

About the River South Tyne

Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 5.7 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 9° 2° 0.3 mm Wind 12 km/h
19 Mon 12° 1° 1.7 mm, 47% Wind 12 km/h
20 Tue 11° 7° 8.6 mm, 65% Wind 14 km/h
21 Wed 8° 4° 1.9 mm, 73% Wind 22 km/h
22 Thu 9° 3° 2.1 mm, 59% Wind 22 km/h
23 Fri 6° 1° – Wind 20 km/h
24 Sat 7° 4° 1.8 mm, 70% Wind 38 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:45 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 10 hr, 22 min First quarter 51%

Map

Other gauges on the River South Tyne

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
FeatherstoneRiver gauge, River South Tyne 0.25 m Normal −0.03 m 15 km
Haydon Bridge BrigwoodRiver gauge, River South Tyne 0.34 m Low −0.03 m 22 km
Haydon BridgeRiver gauge, River South Tyne 0.36 m Low −0.03 m 23 km
Warden Bridge EndRiver gauge, River South Tyne 0.00 m Low −0.06 m 27 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
MoorhouseRiver gauge, Trout Beck 0.13 m Low −0.02 m 14 km
Hindley Wrae FordRiver gauge, River West Allen 0.02 m Lowest on record ±0 14 km
Allen Mill BridgeRiver gauge, River East Allen 0.21 m Low ±0 15 km
WearheadRiver gauge, Killhope Burn 0.10 m Very low −0.01 m 15 km
HaltwhistleRiver gauge, River Tyne 0.44 m Normal −0.04 m 17 km
Hynam BridgeRiver gauge, River Gelt 0.34 m Normal −0.04 m 18 km
HarwoodRiver gauge, Harwood Beck 0.18 m Low −0.02 m 21 km
Temple SowerbyRiver gauge, River Eden 0.34 m Normal −0.04 m 21 km

Questions and answers

Is the River South Tyne at Alston higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.08 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.18 m.

What is a normal level for the River South Tyne at Alston in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.34 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.20 m and 0.77 m, based on 21 years of records.

Is the river level the same as the depth of the water?

No. The reading is measured from a fixed zero mark at the gauge, so 0.26 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Alston today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 16:30 BST, the water level was 0.26 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Alston rising or falling?

Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.08 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Alston normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Alston?

The highest level on record is 2.85 m on May 18, 2013. The lowest is 0.10 m on August 11, 1995.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:023009 (Agency page)
Coordinates
54.81253, -2.44341 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
station datum
Update interval
every 15 minutes
Licence
Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Environment Agency data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

Published series

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Water level 0.26 m 2026-10-18 15:30 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Alston (ea:023009). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cumbria/alston

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.