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Rainfall in Sabden

How much rain fell in Sabden, Lancashire? 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 7 rain gauges within 15km of the centre of Sabden's monitored area, all reporting in the last two days. This October they range from 83.2mm to 117.1mm. The nearest is Rainfall gauge nr Pendleton, 2.9km away. Rain can be very local, so one street may differ from the average.
7.3mm
Yesterday (23 Oct 2026)
19.8mm
Last 7 days
98.5mm
October so far
vs 141.9mm avg — 31% drier
12.8mm
Today so far (UTC)

Rain forecast

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

Next 24 hours: about 3.9mm of rain forecast for the area around Sabden, heaviest in the hour to 19:00 (3.9mm).

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 Sabden? Get the Property Flood-Risk Report for any Sabden postcode — official risk band, recorded floods since 1946, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off, instant. Learn more →
⚠️ Yesterday's 6.4mm at Rainfall gauge nr Pendleton was the wettest day at this gauge since 15 Oct 2026 and in the top 26.7% of 606 rain days in this gauge's 2-year record.
⚠️ Yesterday's 6.6mm at Rainfall gauge nr Brierfield was the wettest day at this gauge since 15 Oct 2026 and in the top 20.8% of 621 rain days in this gauge's 2-year record.
⚠️ Yesterday's 6.4mm at Rainfall gauge nr Great Harwood was the wettest day at this gauge since 15 Oct 2026 and in the top 27.9% of 609 rain days in this gauge's 2-year record.

Nearest rain gauges to Sabden

GaugeDistanceYesterday7 daysOctoberToday
Rainfall gauge nr Pendleton nr Pendleton 2.9km 6.4mm 17.2mm 104.2mm 14.7mm
Rainfall gauge nr Brierfield nr Brierfield 8.0km 6.6mm 17.7mm 98.3mm 11.3mm
Rainfall gauge nr Great Harwood nr Great Harwood 8.3km 6.4mm 18.7mm 94.8mm 12.8mm

Last 30 days (average of 7 gauges within 15km)

Daily totals 24 Sep–23 Oct. Wettest day: 24.2mm.

Rain days this October

19 days with at least 0.2mm of rain so far this October at Rainfall gauge nr Pendleton, against a full-month average of 22.3 rain days (based on 2 months of records at this gauge).

Rainfall year by year in Sabden

2026 so far: 873 mm (1 Jan to 23 Oct), against 937 mm by the same date in an average year (2000–2025) — 7% drier.

One bar per calendar year, the average of 7 local rain gauges: the Environment Agency's quality-checked daily archive, then live telemetry for the latest months. Wettest: 2023 (1,661 mm). Driest: 2013 (910 mm). Average: 1,242 mm a year.

Wettest days and storms in Sabden

Wettest days since 2000

  1. 74.4 mm 25 Dec 2015up to 85.4 mm at one gauge
  2. 67.7 mm 31 Dec 2024up to 90.0 mm at one gauge
  3. 64.1 mm 22 Jun 2012up to 68.0 mm at one gauge
  4. 58.5 mm 22 May 2024up to 68.7 mm at one gauge
  5. 57.3 mm 9 Aug 2004up to 65.0 mm at one gauge

Storms that brought the most rain here

  1. 75.1 mm Storm Ciara · 8–9 Feb 2020
  2. 60.2 mm Storm Christoph · 19–21 Jan 2021
  3. 53.6 mm Storm Babet · 18–22 Oct 2023
  4. 51.6 mm Storm Bert · 22–25 Nov 2024
  5. 47.9 mm Storm Elin · 9–10 Dec 2023

Daily totals are the average of 7 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 Sabden

Sabden gets about 1,275 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 148 mm; driest April, 68 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), 1.2 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 Sabden

Rain gauge River gauge Storm overflow Discharging now

Rivers near Sabden

River Ribble the largest river near Sabden

Nearest gauge on it: Henthorn, 6.4 km away: 0.81 m Rising ▲.

Every gauge on the River Ribble →

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 Sabden's monitored area.

Storm overflows near Sabden

9 storm overflows within 5 km of the centre of Sabden's monitored area. 1 is discharging now, 8 report not discharging.

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.

About Sabden

Sabden
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page)

Village in Lancashire, England

Sabden is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Sabden is located south of Pendle Hill, in a valley about three miles north west of Padiham. The parish covers 2,450.9 acres (991.85 ha), of which 103.2 acres (41.75 ha) is occupied by the village. It lies in the Forest of Pendle section of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Frequently asked questions

How much rain fell in Sabden yesterday?

7.3mm of rain fell yesterday (23 Oct 2026), from the average of 7 rain gauges within 15km of Sabden.

Is this month wetter than normal in Sabden?

October so far: 98.5mm vs 141.9mm October average — 31% drier (the average covers the whole month; we are 24 days in). Figures are the average of 7 rain gauges within 15km.

Where is the nearest rain gauge to Sabden?

Rainfall gauge nr Pendleton is the nearest rain gauge, 2.9km from the centre of Sabden'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 Sabden had this month?

19 days with at least 0.2mm of rain so far this October at Rainfall gauge nr Pendleton, against a full-month average of 22.3 rain days.

What was the wettest year in Sabden?

2023 was the wettest year in the record since 2000, with 1,661 mm from the average of 7 local rain gauges, against an average of 1,242 mm a year. The driest was 2013, with 910 mm.

What is the wettest day on record in Sabden?

25 Dec 2015: 74.4 mm on average across 7 local rain gauges, and up to 85.4 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 Sabden's monitored area — local rainfall can vary over short distances.