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Conditions are worth watching: heavy rain has fallen nearby (22.8 mm in the last 24 hours at Rainfall station). Keep an eye on updates if heavy rain continues.
Updated 2026-10-10 00:05:10 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Bacup and its largest town is Rawtenstall. It also includes the towns of Haslingden and Whitworth. The borough is named after the Rossendale Valley, the upper part of the valley of the River Irwell.
Towns and villages near Rossendale with a page of their own: the homes in a flood risk area there, the nearest river gauges, and recorded floods.
Water · Haslingden · Whitworth · Oswaldtwistle · Church
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 Whitewell Brook, about 10 m from the middle of Rossendale's gauges. It flows into the River Irwell about 330 m 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 Whitewell Brook nearest the middle of Rossendale'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.
Rossendale is monitored by 1 Environment Agency river level station on the Whitewell Brook, in Lancashire. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The Whitewell Brook is monitored by 1 station (Thornfield Avenue). 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 Rossendale. 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 adjacent to the A681 Bacup Road between Holt Mill Road and Spring Gardens Street. Also at risk, Victoria Parade, and parts of Schofield Street and Holt Mill Works; Properties adjacent to Brook including Globe, Dale, Gaghills, Mill End and Albion Mills. Waterfoot Business Centre. Properties on Burnley Road East, Rose, Booth and Clarke Holme Streets, the Close and Thornfield Avenue including the bakery; Areas at risk include properties along Burnley road between Riverside Park and Ashworth road. Also at risk are properties on Riverside Mews, Some property on Brock Clough Road and Shaw Clough Street.; Areas at risk include properties at Stubbylee Bridge including Stuart, Herbert and Branch Streets, the Ambulance station on Commercial Street, Brandwood Park and Waterbarn Lane areas of Stacksteads, and part of Glen Crescent and Toll Bar Business Park.
There are 39 storm overflows within 5km of Rossendale. None of the 35 with a reporting monitor are currently discharging (4 have no live status right now). 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 Rossendale, 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.
Rossendale gets about 1,429 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 167 mm; driest April, 82 mm). That is 23% wetter than 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), 1.0 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: Watch. Conditions are worth watching: heavy rain has fallen nearby (22.8 mm in the last 24 hours at Rainfall station). Keep an eye on updates if heavy rain continues.
Rossendale has river level monitoring on Whitewell Brook — 1 monitoring station 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 19 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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