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Great Bridgford water level

River gauge, River Sow, Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.24m Up 0.01 m over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 Highest onrecord 1.49 m Lowest on record 0.08 m

History

History
0.250.300.35mOct 13Oct 15Oct 17Oct 18Oct 20Bottom of normal range0.250.300.35mOct 13Oct 17Oct 20Bottom of normal range
0.20.30.40.5mSep 20Sep 28Oct 5Oct 13Oct 20Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.30.40.5mSep 20Oct 5Oct 20Top 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

The River Sow at Great Bridgford is at 0.24 m, in the normal range for mid-October.

That puts it 0.01 m below the median of 0.25 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.24 m as well.

It has risen 0.01 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.21 m and 0.24 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
0.25 m0.01 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.21 m – 0.36 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.22 m – 0.54 m
Same day last year
0.24 m0.00 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.21 m – 0.24 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.19 m – 1.11 m
Highest on record
1.49 mOctober 21, 2023
Lowest on record
0.08 mAugust 31, 1976

Fishing and paddling

Paddlers and anglers can expect the river much as they know it, though a heavy shower upstream can change that within hours.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Sow

River Sow

The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England, and is the river that flows through Stafford.

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

19 Mon 13° 8° 1.9 mm, 100% Wind 19 km/h
20 Tue 12° 10° 17 mm, 100% Wind 11 km/h
21 Wed 10° 3° 6.8 mm, 51% Wind 27 km/h
22 Thu 11° 3° 3.1 mm, 65% Wind 23 km/h
23 Fri 12° 7° 21 mm, 86% Wind 42 km/h
24 Sat 11° 7° 1.4 mm, 67% Wind 38 km/h
25 Sun 16° 9° 1.2 mm, 49% Wind 32 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:44 AM Sunset 06:05 PM Daylight 10 hr, 21 min First quarter 68%

Map

Other gauges on the River Sow

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Broadeye BridgeRiver gauge, River Sow 0.37 m Normal +0.03 m 5.0 km
MilfordRiver gauge, River Sow 0.58 m Normal +0.14 m 11 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
ShallowfordRiver gauge, Meece Brook 0.17 m Low +0.01 m 2.3 km
AstonfieldsRiver gauge, Sandyford Brook 0.37 m Very high +0.13 m 4.7 km
StaffordRiver gauge, Rising Brook 0.12 m High +0.05 m 6.6 km
DarlastonRiver gauge, River Trent 1.39 m Very high +0.56 m 8.5 km
Great HaywoodRiver gauge, River Trent 0.86 m Normal +0.03 m 12 km
PenkridgeRiver gauge, River Penk 0.26 m Normal −0.01 m 13 km
Whitleyford BridgeRiver gauge, Lonco Brook 0.12 m Normal +0.01 m 14 km
CresswellRiver gauge, River Blithe 0.28 m Normal +0.16 m 15 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Sow at Great Bridgford compare with last year?

It is about the same as on this day last year, when the reading was 0.24 m.

What is a normal level for the River Sow at Great Bridgford in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.25 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.21 m and 0.36 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 Great Bridgford today?

On 20 Oct 2026, 13:00 BST, the water level was 0.24 m. Up 0.01 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Great Bridgford rising or falling?

Up 0.01 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.02 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Great Bridgford normal?

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

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Great Bridgford?

The highest level on record is 1.49 m on October 21, 2023. The lowest is 0.08 m on August 31, 1976.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:4052 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.83974, -2.17409 (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 2026-10-20 12:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Great Bridgford (ea:4052). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/staffordshire/great-bridgford

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.