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Rainfall in Dunscar

How much rain fell in Dunscar, Greater Manchester? Daily, weekly and monthly totals averaged over the Environment Agency rain gauges within 15km, updated every 15 minutes.

Yellow Yellow warning of rain

Heavy rain brings a high likelihood of moderate impacts from surface water flooding.

In force until 11pm Sat 24 Oct (UK time). Issued 9:05am Sat 24 Oct by the Met Office.

What to expect and what to do

What to expect

  • Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer
  • Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer
  • Some interruption to power supplies and other services likely
  • Flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible

What should I do?

Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.

People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It's easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

Check if your property could be at risk of flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

What should I do? See the Met Office warnings and advice. Met Office Weather Warnings © Crown Copyright 2026

The average of 10 rain gauges within 15km of the centre of Dunscar's monitored area, all reporting in the last two days. This October they range from 81.4mm to 154.9mm. The nearest is Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 0.0 km), 0.0km away. Rain can be very local, so one street may differ from the average.
13.1mm
Yesterday (23 Oct 2026)
32.9mm
Last 7 days
119.0mm
October so far
vs 127.6mm avg — 7% drier
19.2mm
Today so far (UTC)

Rain forecast

A Met Office weather warning is in force here: see the warning above.

Next 24 hours: about 2.5mm of rain forecast for the area around Dunscar, heaviest in the hour to 19:00 (2.5mm).

A computer model forecast (DWD ICON) for a square about 15 km across, updated 17:05 UK time. It is a forecast, not a measurement, and not a Met Office forecast. Weather data by Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).

Next 4 days

Daily totals for UK days from the same computer model; "dry" means under 0.2mm. Forecasts further ahead are less certain.

🏠 Thinking of buying in Dunscar? Get the Property Flood-Risk Report for any Dunscar postcode — official risk band, recorded floods since 1946, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off, instant. Learn more →
⚠️ Yesterday's 12.2mm at Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 0.0 km) was the wettest day at this gauge since 9 Oct 2026 and in the top 12.1% of 569 rain days in this gauge's 2-year record.
⚠️ Yesterday's 15.0mm at Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 3.1 km) was the wettest day at this gauge since 9 Oct 2026 and in the top 8.8% of 634 rain days in this gauge's 2-year record.
⚠️ Yesterday's 16.3mm at Rainfall gauge nr Chorley was the wettest day at this gauge since 20 Aug 2026 and in the top 5% of 580 rain days in this gauge's 2-year record.

Nearest rain gauges to Dunscar

GaugeDistanceYesterday7 daysOctoberToday
Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 0.0 km) nr Bolton 0.0km 12.2mm 32.4mm 134.0mm 19.8mm
Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 3.1 km) nr Bolton 3.1km 15.0mm 38.9mm 154.9mm 26.4mm
Rainfall gauge nr Chorley nr Chorley 7.7km 16.3mm 37.8mm 110.8mm 18.7mm

Last 30 days (average of 10 gauges within 15km)

Daily totals 24 Sep–23 Oct. Wettest day: 19.4mm.

Rain days this October

20 days with at least 0.2mm of rain so far this October at Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 0.0 km), against a full-month average of 21.8 rain days (based on 2 months of records at this gauge).

Rainfall year by year in Dunscar

2026 so far: 919 mm (1 Jan to 23 Oct), against 948 mm by the same date in an average year (2000–2025) — about average.

One bar per calendar year, the average of 8 local rain gauges: the Environment Agency's quality-checked daily archive, then live telemetry for the latest months. Wettest: 2012 (1,760 mm). Driest: 2003 (955 mm). Average: 1,254 mm a year.

Wettest days and storms in Dunscar

Wettest days since 2000

  1. 62.5 mm 31 Dec 2024up to 82.4 mm at one gauge
  2. 59.2 mm 25 Dec 2015up to 76.2 mm at one gauge
  3. 58.6 mm 20 Sep 2025up to 68.3 mm at one gauge
  4. 52.7 mm 22 May 2024up to 62.7 mm at one gauge
  5. 49.4 mm 7 Aug 2021up to 61.6 mm at one gauge

Storms that brought the most rain here

  1. 70.4 mm Storm Christoph · 19–21 Jan 2021
  2. 62.5 mm Storm Bert · 22–25 Nov 2024
  3. 55.4 mm Storm Ciara · 8–9 Feb 2020
  4. 49.6 mm Storm Barra · 6–8 Dec 2021
  5. 41.9 mm Storm Bronagh · 20–21 Sep 2018

Daily totals are the average of 8 local rain gauges, for UTC days; one gauge can catch much more than the average. A storm's figure adds up the rain measured on its dates, from our list of Met Office named storms and major floods — other weather on those days counts too.

Average rainfall in Dunscar

Dunscar gets about 1,333 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 154 mm; driest April, 78 mm). That is close to the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year.

Monthly averages in mm. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 1.6 km from the town's gauge centre. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. UK comparison: Met Office HadUK-Grid areal series, 1991-2020, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Gauges and storm overflows around Dunscar

Rain gauge River gauge Storm overflow Discharging now

Rivers near Dunscar

River Irwell the largest river near Dunscar

Nearest gauge on it: Kearsley, 8.3 km away: 1.58 m Rising ▲.

Every gauge on the River Irwell →

Nearest river gauges

A level is shown only when the gauge's latest reading is under 6 hours old. Distances are straight-line from the centre of Dunscar's monitored area.

Storm overflows near Dunscar

70 storm overflows within 5 km of the centre of Dunscar's monitored area. 25 are discharging now, 42 report not discharging, and 3 have no current status.

Discharging now, then the most spills in 2025

Sewage & storm overflows →

Event Duration Monitors show when an overflow may be spilling; they do not confirm it, and this is not advice on water quality. A live status older than two hours counts as no current status. Live status: © United Utilities storm overflow activity data, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Annual spill figures: Environment Agency Event Duration Monitoring return, © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right, Open Government Licence (OGL) v3.0.

Frequently asked questions

How much rain fell in Dunscar yesterday?

13.1mm of rain fell yesterday (23 Oct 2026), from the average of 10 rain gauges within 15km of Dunscar.

Is this month wetter than normal in Dunscar?

October so far: 119.0mm vs 127.6mm October average — 7% drier (the average covers the whole month; we are 24 days in). Figures are the average of 10 rain gauges within 15km.

Where is the nearest rain gauge to Dunscar?

Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 0.0 km) is the nearest rain gauge, 0.0km from the centre of Dunscar's monitored area. Rain gauges can be several kilometres from the town itself, so very local downpours may not register exactly.

How many rain days has Dunscar had this month?

20 days with at least 0.2mm of rain so far this October at Rainfall gauge nr Bolton (north, 0.0 km), against a full-month average of 21.8 rain days.

What was the wettest year in Dunscar?

2012 was the wettest year in the record since 2000, with 1,760 mm from the average of 8 local rain gauges, against an average of 1,254 mm a year. The driest was 2003, with 955 mm.

What is the wettest day on record in Dunscar?

31 Dec 2024: 62.5 mm on average across 8 local rain gauges, and up to 82.4 mm at one of them. Records since 1 Jan 2000.

Rainfall data: Environment Agency rain gauges, synced every 15 minutes. Daily totals are computed overnight (UTC days); "today so far" is live. Gauge distances are straight-line from the centre of Dunscar's monitored area — local rainfall can vary over short distances.