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Another gauge is also registered under the name Leigh: Leigh Flood Storage Area (Kent) — see the Kent gauges. This page is Leigh, Greater Manchester.
No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Updated 2026-10-09 15:11:26 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Leigh is a town in the Wigan district, in Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss. It is situated approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Wigan and 11 miles (18 km) west of Manchester city centre. In 2011 it had a population of 53,000.
Towns and villages near Leigh with a page of their own: the homes in a flood risk area there, the nearest river gauges, and recorded floods.
Leigh · Higher Folds · Golborne · Ince-in-Makerfield · Worsley · Irlam · Eccles
Place names: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The nearest watercourse on the river map is Westleigh Brook, about 640 m from the middle of Leigh's gauges. It flows into Pennington Brook about 2.3 km downstream.
A gauge downstream shows water that has already passed this point; one upstream sees it first. Distances along the river are from the point on Westleigh Brook nearest the middle of Leigh's gauges. From Ordnance Survey’s river map (OS Open Rivers), which leaves out small streams, ditches and culverts, so a nearer one may exist. This describes where water goes on the map; it says nothing about flooding at any address. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.
Leigh is monitored by 2 Environment Agency river level stations on the Atherton Lake Brook, the Westleigh Brook, in Greater Manchester. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The Atherton Lake Brook is monitored by 1 station (Lilford Park, Leigh). The Westleigh Brook is monitored by 1 station (Sportsman Street, Leigh). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.
There are 8 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Leigh. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: Areas at risk include properties in Inglebrook Court and on Old Hall Mill Lane. Also at risk are properties on Windermere Rd, Grasmere St, Prescott St and surrounding Chadwick St. Properties around Reeves St, Platt St and between Leigh Rd and Charles St; Areas at risk include properties in and around the Kirbati Way, Clifton Street, Wigan Road and Twist Lane areas. Additional properties are around the Woodley Grove, Suffolk Grove, Stout Street and Common Lane areas; Areas at risk include properties on and around The Avenue to Peregrine Drive and adjacent roads. This includes properties on and around Riversmeade, Elmridge, Platt Fold Road, Sevenoaks, Greenways, South Court, Linnet Drive, Redpol Avenue; Areas at risk include land and property adjacent to the watercourse at Parsonage bridge, and property adjacent to the watercourse near Westleigh Park including some properties on Telford Crescent.
There are 49 storm overflows within 5km of Leigh. 4 are currently discharging. Enable "Sewage" on the map above to see their locations.
6 of them, nearest first, with their own page of live status and past discharges:
If flooding is forecast in Leigh, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 for the latest information. Move valuables upstairs, turn off gas and electricity if safe to do so, and avoid walking or driving through flood water. Sign up for flood warnings on any station page above to receive email alerts when water levels rise. For emergency numbers, a preparation checklist and insurance guidance, see our flood help & preparation guide.
Leigh gets about 999 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 110 mm; driest April, 62 mm). That is close to the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. See the rain gauges →
A thirty-year average for the area, not a forecast and not a flood risk on its own. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 2.6 km away. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Floods whose mapped extent (EA Recorded Flood Outlines) reached within ~5 km of the town centre — most recent first. These are records of mapped extents, not a full list of floods. See them on the map →
Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded.
Current verdict: Normal. No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Leigh has river level monitoring on Atherton Lake Brook, Westleigh Brook — 2 monitoring stations in total.
Use the GOV.UK Check for Flooding service (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk) or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 (24 hours). You can also set up free FloodRadar email or browser alerts from any station page above.
Follow official advice: move valuables and vehicles to safety, never walk or drive through flood water, turn off gas and electricity if safe, and check on vulnerable neighbours. See our flood preparation guide at floodradar.co.uk/flood-help.
Yes — the Environment Agency's Recorded Flood Outlines dataset shows 9 recorded flood extents around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 2024. That is a count of mapped extents, not of separate floods. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. See the flood history link below.
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