Nivelmap
EN

Wharncliffe Side water level

River gauge, River Don, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.84m Steady over the last 24 hours

1 3 4 Highest onrecord 4.44 m Lowest on record 0.76 m

History

History
0.91.01.1mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.91.01.1mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.91.01.1mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 11Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.91.01.1mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
1.01.52.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range1.01.52.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
1.01.5mJanMarMayJulSepNov20261.01.5mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

At 0.84 m, the River Don at Wharncliffe Side is below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.12 m below the median of 0.96 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.81 m (+0.02 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.84 m and 1.06 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
0.96 m0.12 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.84 m – 1.16 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.88 m – 2.30 m
Same day last year
0.81 m+0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.84 m – 1.06 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.81 m – 1.83 m
Highest on record
4.44 mJune 25, 2007
Lowest on record
0.76 mNovember 24, 2003

On the river at Wharncliffe Side

Low, clear water makes fish wary, and anglers often do better early and late in the day. For canoeists, shallow riffles mean scraped hulls and the odd portage.

Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Don

River Don, Aberdeenshire

The River Don is a river in north-east Scotland. At 135 kilometres (84 mi) in length, it drains a catchment of 1,312 square kilometres (507 sq mi). It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce. Its main tributary, the River Ury, joins at Inverurie.

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: 6.9 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 11° 7° 0.4 mm Wind 17 km/h
19 Mon 12° 8° 6.2 mm, 98% Wind 17 km/h
20 Tue 11° 10° 12 mm, 73% Wind 11 km/h
21 Wed 11° 7° 0.2 mm, 49% Wind 25 km/h
22 Thu 12° 5° 0.6 mm, 61% Wind 18 km/h
23 Fri 8° 5° 1.2 mm, 74% Wind 23 km/h
24 Sat 9° 5° 0.5 mm, 61% Wind 30 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:39 AM Sunset 06:05 PM Daylight 10 hr, 27 min First quarter 52%

Map

Other gauges on the River Don

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Oxspring Bower HillRiver gauge, River Don 0.01 m Normal ±0 8.2 km
Sheffield Lady's BridgeRiver gauge, River Don 0.39 m Very low ±0 8.8 km
HadfieldsRiver gauge, River Don 0.33 m Very low ±0 9.5 km
PenistoneRiver gauge, River Don 0.32 m Low ±0 11 km
RotherhamRiver gauge, River Don 0.01 m Low −0.01 m 13 km
Rotherham Forge IslandRiver gauge, River Don 0.19 m Very low ±0 13 km
Kilnhurst LowerRiver gauge, River Don 0.50 m Low +0.03 m 17 km
Mexborough LockRiver gauge, River Don 0.53 m Very low −0.01 m 21 km
SprotbroughRiver gauge, River Don 0.42 m Normal −0.04 m 25 km
DoncasterRiver gauge, River Don 0.18 m Very low −0.04 m 29 km
Kirk BramwithRiver gauge, River Don 1.58 m Normal −0.09 m 36 km
FishlakeRiver gauge, River Don 1.29 m Low −0.15 m 41 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Loxley Rowell BridgeRiver gauge, River Loxley 0.06 m Very low −0.01 m 4.8 km
High GreenRiver gauge, Charlton Brook −0.01 m Very low ±0 5.6 km
MalinbridgeRiver gauge, River Loxley 0.19 m Lowest on record ±0 5.8 km
Ecclesfield MorrisonsRiver gauge, Whitley Brook −0.05 m Very low ±0 6.0 km
Stocksbridge SteelworksRiver gauge, The Porter River 0.22 m Normal ±0 6.1 km
Sheffield BlackburnRiver gauge, Blackburn Brook 0.04 m Normal ±0 8.5 km
GrimesthorpeRiver gauge, Bagley Dike 0.07 m Normal ±0 8.7 km
Sheffield Oakbrook RoadRiver gauge, Porter Brook 0.05 m Normal ±0 8.8 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Don at Wharncliffe Side compare with last year?

It is 0.02 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.81 m.

What is a normal level for the River Don at Wharncliffe Side in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.96 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.84 m and 1.16 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 0.84 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Wharncliffe Side today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 18:45 BST, the water level was 0.84 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Wharncliffe Side rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Wharncliffe Side 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 Wharncliffe Side?

The highest level on record is 4.44 m on June 25, 2007. The lowest is 0.76 m on November 24, 2003.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:L0504 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.44521, -1.54918 (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 0.84 m 2026-10-18 17:45 Provisional

Download

Embed this gauge

Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.

How to cite

Environment Agency: Wharncliffe Side (ea:L0504). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/south-yorkshire/wharncliffe-side

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.