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Scalby water level

River gauge, Sea Cut, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.24m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 2 3 Highest onrecord 2.97 m Lowest on record 0.10 m

History

History
0.20.40.6mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 17Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.6mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.6mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 11Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.6mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.51.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.51.0mOct 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

Low water at Scalby: the gauge reads 0.24 m, far below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 0.32 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 0.26 m, a difference of −0.03 m. The lowest reading on record is 0.10 m (May 27, 2007).

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.23 m – 0.25 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
0.32 m0.09 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.25 m – 0.52 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.21 m – 0.70 m
Same day last year
0.26 m−0.03 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.23 m – 0.25 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.23 m – 1.23 m
Highest on record
2.97 mJune 24, 2007
Lowest on record
0.10 mMay 27, 2007

For anglers and canoeists

Low rivers are hard going for paddlers, with exposed gravel and weirs that are awkward to shoot. Salmon and sea trout usually wait for the next spate to run.

Many angling and canoe clubs check gauges like this one before heading out.

About the Sea Cut

Scalby Beck

Scalby Beck, or the Sea Cut is a small river that enters the North Sea at Scalby Mills, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The beck is fed from local streams in Scalby, Newby and Burniston and other watercourses draining off the nearby hills. It is also a bypass channel for the upper reaches of the River Derwent when it is under flood conditions.

Read more on Wikipedia

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

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 9.4 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 12° 9° 0.2 mm, 33% Wind 28 km/h
19 Mon 14° 12° 1.5 mm, 100% Wind 28 km/h
20 Tue 13° 11° 11 mm, 67% Wind 26 km/h
21 Wed 13° 7° 9.4 mm, 71% Wind 23 km/h
22 Thu 11° 4° – Wind 23 km/h
23 Fri 10° 2° 32 mm, 67% Wind 40 km/h
24 Sat 11° 4° 1.8 mm, 44% Wind 30 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:36 AM Sunset 05:59 PM Daylight 10 hr, 23 min First quarter 53%

Map

Other gauges on the Sea Cut

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
ScarboroughRiver gauge, Sea Cut 0.08 m Normal ±0 1.8 km
MowthorpeRiver gauge, Sea Cut −0.02 m Very low ±0 3.4 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Mowthorpe Weir HeadRiver gauge, River Derwent 41.18 m Very low ±0 4.0 km
Forge ValleyRiver gauge, River Derwent 0.15 m Low ±0 4.8 km
West AytonRiver gauge, River Derwent −0.20 m Lowest on record −0.01 m 5.4 km
Snainton IngsRiver gauge, Brompton Beck 0.04 m Low ±0 13 km
Levisham MillRiver gauge, Levisham Beck 0.04 m Low ±0 17 km
Thornton le DaleRiver gauge, Thornton Beck 0.07 m Low ±0 18 km
Levisham StationRiver gauge, Pickering Beck 0.23 m Low −0.01 m 19 km
Pickering Flood Alleviation SchemeRiver gauge, Pickering Beck 0.12 m Lowest on record −0.05 m 20 km

Questions and answers

Is the Sea Cut at Scalby higher than last year?

No, it is 0.03 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.26 m.

What is a normal level for the Sea Cut at Scalby in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.32 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.25 m and 0.52 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 0.24 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Scalby today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 21:30 BST, the water level was 0.24 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Scalby rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Scalby normal?

Very 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 Scalby?

The highest level on record is 2.97 m on June 24, 2007. The lowest is 0.10 m on May 27, 2007.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:L2603 (Agency page)
Coordinates
54.29559, -0.44963 (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 0.24 m 2026-10-18 20:30 Provisional

Download

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Scalby (ea:L2603). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/north-yorkshire/scalby

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.