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Ilkley water level

River gauge, River Wharfe, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.21m Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 3 4 Highest onrecord 3.49 m Lowest on record 0.03 m

History

History
0.20.4mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.20.4mOct 16Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range
-0.00.51.01.5mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0.00.51.01.5mOct 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

Water levels are unremarkable at Ilkley, where the gauge shows 0.21 m.

The median for mid-October is 0.23 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.03 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.15 m, a difference of +0.06 m.

It is still going down, by 0.04 m over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 0.21 m – 0.26 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
0.23 m0.03 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.14 m – 0.54 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.09 m – 1.80 m
Same day last year
0.15 m+0.06 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.21 m – 0.26 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.08 m – 1.10 m
Highest on record
3.49 mNovember 2, 2020
Lowest on record
0.03 mSeptember 27, 1990

For anglers and canoeists

This is an ordinary level for the river: most put-ins, beats and weirs behave as they usually do.

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

About the River Wharfe

River Wharfe

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.

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

18 Sun 12° 5° 0.4 mm, 31% Wind 16 km/h
19 Mon 14° 8° 2.3 mm, 96% Wind 21 km/h
20 Tue 11° 7° 13 mm, 69% Wind 13 km/h
21 Wed 11° 6° 0.7 mm, 64% Wind 24 km/h
22 Thu 11° 2° 1.2 mm, 39% Wind 23 km/h
23 Fri 8° 3° – Wind 21 km/h
24 Sat 10° 3° 0.5 mm, 67% Wind 35 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:41 AM Sunset 06:06 PM Daylight 10 hr, 25 min First quarter 45%

Map

Other gauges on the River Wharfe

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
AddinghamRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.36 m Low −0.06 m 2.3 km
OtleyRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.40 m Low −0.01 m 9.3 km
Pool BridgeRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.19 m Normal −0.05 m 13 km
ArthingtonRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.47 m Normal −0.04 m 18 km
Netherside HallRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.49 m Normal −0.07 m 21 km
CollinghamRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.59 m Normal −0.04 m 27 km
KettlewellRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.31 m Normal −0.06 m 28 km
Flint MillRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.62 m Normal −0.02 m 31 km
TadcasterRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.25 m Normal −0.02 m 37 km
Cock Beck SluicesRiver gauge, River Wharfe 3.73 m Normal −0.17 m 38 km
Bolton PercyRiver gauge, River Wharfe 5.12 m Low ±0 42 km
Nun Appleton Fleet Pumping StationRiver gauge, River Wharfe 2.48 m No reference yet −0.20 m 45 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Addingham, Town BeckRiver gauge, Town Beck 0.08 m Very low ±0 4.0 km
SilsdenRiver gauge, Silsden Beck −0.05 m Very low ±0 6.8 km
StockbridgeRiver gauge, River Aire 0.03 m Low −0.05 m 7.1 km
Keighley Dalton LaneRiver gauge, River Worth 0.03 m Normal ±0 7.8 km
KeighleyRiver gauge, River Worth 0.24 m Low −0.02 m 8.7 km
BingleyRiver gauge, River Aire 0.27 m Normal −0.02 m 8.7 km
Cross HillsRiver gauge, Eastburn Beck 0.22 m Normal −0.05 m 9.5 km
Cottingley BridgeRiver gauge, River Aire 0.48 m Normal −0.04 m 10 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Wharfe at Ilkley higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.06 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.15 m.

What is a normal level for the River Wharfe at Ilkley in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.23 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.14 m and 0.54 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 0.21 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Ilkley today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 03:00 BST, the water level was 0.21 m. Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Ilkley rising or falling?

Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Ilkley 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 Ilkley?

The highest level on record is 3.49 m on November 2, 2020. The lowest is 0.03 m on September 27, 1990.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:F1902 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.92935, -1.83091 (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 0.21 m 2026-10-18 02:00 Provisional

Download

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

How to cite

Environment Agency: Ilkley (ea:F1902). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-yorkshire/ilkley

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.