Penistone water level
River gauge, River Don, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Right now
Low for mid-October
Water level
History
20252026
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
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.
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.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
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
| Parameter | Last value | Time (UTC) | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water level | 0.32 m | 2026-10-18 11:30 | 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: 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.
Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer