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Penistone water level

River gauge, River Don, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.32m Steady over the last 24 hours

1 2 Highest onrecord 2.35 m Lowest on record 0.27 m

History

History
0.30.40.5mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.30.40.5mOct 16Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.51.01.5mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.51.01.5mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.30.50.81.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.30.50.81.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

At 0.32 m, the River Don at Penistone is below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.06 m below the median of 0.37 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.31 m (+0.01 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

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
0.37 m0.06 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.30 m – 0.52 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.34 m – 1.55 m
Same day last year
0.31 m+0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.32 m – 0.32 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.30 m – 1.14 m
Highest on record
2.35 mJuly 6, 2012
Lowest on record
0.27 mAugust 29, 2013

On the river at Penistone

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

18 Sun 10° 5° 0.5 mm, 65% Wind 21 km/h
19 Mon 12° 8° 7.4 mm, 94% Wind 20 km/h
20 Tue 11° 6° 9.5 mm, 69% Wind 12 km/h
21 Wed 9° 6° 0.2 mm, 65% Wind 26 km/h
22 Thu 11° 4° 0.9 mm, 43% Wind 21 km/h
23 Fri 7° 3° – Wind 24 km/h
24 Sat 9° 4° 0.5 mm, 78% Wind 35 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:39 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 10 hr, 26 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Don

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Oxspring Bower HillRiver gauge, River Don 0.02 m Normal ±0 3.9 km
Wharncliffe SideRiver gauge, River Don 0.84 m Low ±0 11 km
HadfieldsRiver gauge, River Don 0.33 m Very low ±0 20 km
Sheffield Lady's BridgeRiver gauge, River Don 0.38 m Very low −0.01 m 20 km
Rotherham Forge IslandRiver gauge, River Don 0.19 m Very low −0.01 m 22 km
RotherhamRiver gauge, River Don 0.01 m Low −0.01 m 22 km
Kilnhurst LowerRiver gauge, River Don 0.40 m Very low −0.06 m 24 km
Mexborough LockRiver gauge, River Don 0.52 m Very low −0.02 m 27 km
SprotbroughRiver gauge, River Don 0.45 m Normal −0.03 m 30 km
DoncasterRiver gauge, River Don 0.21 m Very low −0.04 m 33 km
Kirk BramwithRiver gauge, River Don 1.36 m Low −0.78 m 39 km
FishlakeRiver gauge, River Don 1.34 m Low −0.89 m 44 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Denby Dale Norman RoadRiver gauge, River Dearne 0.19 m Very low ±0 5.0 km
Stocksbridge SteelworksRiver gauge, The Porter River 0.22 m Normal ±0 5.2 km
Skelmanthorpe Park GateRiver gauge, Baildon Dyke 0.01 m Normal ±0 7.8 km
New Mill Holmfirth RoadRiver gauge, New Mill Dike 0.28 m Normal ±0 9.0 km
Kirkburton Riley LaneRiver gauge, Dean Bottom Beck −0.01 m Very low ±0 9.9 km
DartonRiver gauge, River Dearne 0.22 m Very low ±0 10.0 km
WorsbroughRiver gauge, River Dove 0.06 m Low ±0 11 km
HolmbridgeRiver gauge, River Holme 0.46 m High ±0 12 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Don at Penistone compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.31 m.

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

The median for mid-October is 0.37 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.30 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 0.32 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Penistone today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 12:30 BST, the water level was 0.32 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Penistone rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Penistone 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 Penistone?

The highest level on record is 2.35 m on July 6, 2012. The lowest is 0.27 m on August 29, 2013.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:L0509 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.52745, -1.64576 (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 0.32 m 2026-10-18 11:30 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Penistone (ea:L0509). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/south-yorkshire/penistone

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.