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Oakley Cross Beck water level

River gauge, Durham, United Kingdom

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Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.20m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.02 m Lowest on record 0.09 m

History

History
0.20.3mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.20.3mOct 16Oct 17Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.20.40.60.8mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.40.60.8mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.20.40.6mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.20.40.6mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

Oakley Cross Beck is running below normal at 0.20 m.

That puts it 0.03 m below the median of 0.23 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.21 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
0.23 m0.03 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.19 m – 0.36 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.19 m – 0.80 m
Same day last year
0.21 m−0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.20 m – 0.20 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.15 m – 0.67 m
Highest on record
1.02 mApril 26, 2012
Lowest on record
0.09 mApril 24, 2011

Fishing and paddling

At low levels, many rivers become a walk-and-paddle trip. Fish hold in deeper pools and spook easily.

Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

18 Sun 11° 4° – Wind 16 km/h
19 Mon 14° 7° 0.4 mm, 81% Wind 17 km/h
20 Tue 12° 10° 13 mm, 75% Wind 15 km/h
21 Wed 12° 6° 7.5 mm, 72% Wind 20 km/h
22 Thu 10° 4° 0.9 mm, 31% Wind 19 km/h
23 Fri 8° 2° 22 mm, 72% Wind 28 km/h
24 Sat 9° 3° 1.2 mm, 47% Wind 22 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:42 AM Sunset 06:04 PM Daylight 10 hr, 22 min First quarter 50%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
West AucklandRiver gauge, River Gaunless 0.13 m Normal ±0 0.8 km
Spring Gardens DamRiver gauge, River Gaunless 0.11 m Lowest on record ±0 1.3 km
Ramshaw MillRiver gauge, River Gaunless 0.07 m Very low ±0 2.0 km
Dovecote HillRiver gauge, River Gaunless 0.46 m Very low ±0 4.0 km
LowlandsRiver gauge, River Gaunless 0.08 m Normal ±0 4.4 km
South ChurchRiver gauge, River Gaunless 0.05 m Lowest on record ±0 4.7 km
Witton ParkRiver gauge, River Wear 0.31 m Very low ±0 5.0 km
BedburnRiver gauge, Bedburn Beck 0.10 m Very low ±0 8.7 km

Questions and answers

How does Oakley Cross Beck compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.21 m.

What is a normal level for Oakley Cross Beck in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.23 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.19 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 0.20 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Oakley Cross Beck today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 15:45 BST, the water level was 0.20 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Oakley Cross Beck rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Oakley Cross Beck 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 Oakley Cross Beck?

The highest level on record is 1.02 m on April 26, 2012. The lowest is 0.09 m on April 24, 2011.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:024023 (Agency page)
Coordinates
54.62791, -1.72580 (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 0.20 m 2026-10-18 14:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Oakley Cross Beck (ea:024023). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/durham/oakley-cross-beck

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.