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⚠ No recent data · last reading 6d ago
0.50

Middleton

Tees
Tees catchment • Middleton-In-Teesdale • County Durham • ID: F3505 • Level
(6d ago) • 4 readings/hr • 243 views

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Last Level
0.503 m
⚠ 6d ago · may be out of date
24h Max
0.576 m
24h Min
0.503 m
Typical Range
0.37 - 1.80
m
Highest Recorded
3.19 m
EA official record
3.15 in our data (since Feb 1982)
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -2 cm over 5h
04 Oct 09:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.503 m
04 Oct 08:45 ▬ steady 0.504 m
04 Oct 08:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.504 m
04 Oct 08:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.505 m
04 Oct 08:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.506 m
04 Oct 07:45 ▬ steady 0.507 m
04 Oct 07:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.507 m
04 Oct 07:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.509 m
04 Oct 07:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.510 m
04 Oct 06:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.511 m
04 Oct 06:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.512 m
04 Oct 06:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.513 m
04 Oct 06:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.514 m
04 Oct 05:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.515 m
04 Oct 05:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.516 m
04 Oct 05:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.518 m
04 Oct 05:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.519 m
04 Oct 04:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.520 m
04 Oct 04:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.521 m
04 Oct 04:15 0.522 m

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: F3505
  • RLOI id: 8138 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: F3505-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 4 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Tees
  • Typical Range: 0.368 – 1.800 m
  • Drainage Area: 242 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 3 Oct (7 days behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; unchecked, provisional) via EA Hydrology
  • EA Cross-check: 0.50 m (EA at 4 Oct 09:00)
  • Flow Archive: National River Flow Archive ↗

Geographic coordinates may reflect the access point for the gauge, and not the precise location in the watercourse that it is taking readings from.

Nearby Stations

Gauges connected to this river, and others nearby. A distance “by river” follows the river on the map; any other is in a straight line.

Connected upstream

Connected downstream

Same river system, separate branch

Distances by river: OS Open Rivers. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

💧 Storm overflows upstream of this gauge

None of the storm overflows FloodRadar holds is traced upstream of this gauge on the mapped river network. That is not the same as none: the map leaves out many small streams and culverts, so an overflow it cannot place may still drain here, and not every company publishes every overflow. Those nearby are listed below.

Nearby, connection not known

Within 6 km in a straight line, but the river map cannot say whether their water passes this gauge.

💧
Northumbrian Water · into River Tees · 20 m away in a straight line · too close to the gauge to say which side
4 spills · 2 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Hudeshope Beck · 600 m away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Heugh Syke - Trib. Of R. Tees · 2.7 km away in a straight line · no mapped watercourse close enough to be sure
37 spills · 333 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

9 other overflows within 6 km are downstream of this gauge or on another branch of the river network, so they are not listed.

These are the water companies' monitor statuses; a spill does not by itself explain a change in the gauge level. River connections and distances are traced on OS Open Rivers (edition 2026-04), which leaves out many small channels. Explore the sewage map →

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

Rainfall & Weather

Loading rainfall and weather data...

How often this river runs high

In a typical year this gauge reaches its typical high of 1.80 m on about 6 days. This year so far: 2 days.

2026 2 days, 2 of them high · 2 high so far
2025 4 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2024 5 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2023 10 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2022 3 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2021 4 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2020 10 days, 6 of them high · 6 high
2019 8 days, 4 of them high · 4 high
2018 2 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2017 4 days, 2 of them high · 2 high

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 1.95 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2011 for the 1 flood area linked to this gauge (nearest 5.0 km away).

0flood warnings 117flood alerts

Most recent flood alert: 25 Mar 2026 — Upper River Tees

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 5
2025 0 13
2024 0 14
2023 0 11
2022 0 2
2021 0 2
2020 0 3
2019 0 9
2018 0 5
2017 0 9
2016 0 7
2015 0 10
2014 0 4
2013 0 13
2012 0 9
2011 0 1

Warnings apply to a whole flood area, not necessarily this exact spot. Years before 2006 aren't covered by the EA's historic record. See also the Middleton-In-Teesdale flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. This is the area linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Flashy Rain runs off fast — levels rise and fall sharply, often within hours of heavy rain.

Your catchment is all the land that drains rainfall into the river above this gauge. Its character — how steep, wet, wooded, urban or chalky that land is — decides how fast rain here turns into a rising river. A steep, bare or clay catchment is “flashy” (rises and falls quickly, floods easily); a flat, chalk or well-wooded one is slow and steady. The tiles below put numbers to that; the flow-duration curve reads left-to-right from the river’s typical high flows (Q5) down to its low flows (Q95) — a steep curve means a flashy river.

The physical character of the land that drains to this gauge, and how it shapes its flood response — from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).

Baseflow Index
0.28
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,585 mm/yr
1991–2020 · -7% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.1%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
215 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
208 m³/s
31 Jan 1995 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 9.1029.305.132.265% (high)% of days exceeded95% (low)
Daily flow (m³/s) exceeded each % of the time — a steep curve is flashy, a flat one is steady. Q5 high · Q50 median · Q95 low.
Land Cover (2023)
Woodland 1%Grassland 18%Heath/scrub 79%Other 1%
Grassland 44% → 18% since 1990

Flow affected by: surface-water abstraction, reservoir influence.

Photos

Gauging-station photographs from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH).

Photos © NRFA / UKCEH & the measuring authority — shown at web resolution. Full gallery on the NRFA ↗

About this gauge

Velocity area station with informal flat V Crump weir. Flow regime influenced by Cow Green reservoir.

More detail

The catchment

Upland catchment draining from the Pennines. Geology: largely Carboniferous Limestone (sandstone, shale and limestone), some Millstone Grit, with extensive peat cover in headwaters, and boulder clay in valley. Land use: moorland and rough grazing. No known catchment changes.

The station

Velocity area station, with informal flat V Crump weir (31.8m wide) for low-flow control constructed in July 1972. Cableway. Replaced earlier station at Dent Bank (25002). Straight reach, gravel and rock bed on steep gradient.

How it measures flow

Limited modular range. Some bypassing at the back of the building at high flows; but a reasonable station for high flows. Measured level may be affected by draw-down and turbulence (due to rocky bed) at high flows. One peak flow rating applied across period of record. Well gauged to QMED and uniform cross section allows extrapolation to 3m.

Flow regime

Flows affected by Cow Green reservoir (24.4% of catchment) - influencing entire record through regulation for abstractions and minimum flow, storage attenuation and winter drawdown.

The flow record

Maintenance on weir winter 1995-1996 resulted in some artificially low flows. Step-change in flows June-September 2014 due to increased outflows from Cow Green Reservoir to flush and clean Cow Green weir (also seen at 25008 and 25023). The 71/72 AMAX event on 11/01/1972 before the post-weir rating is valid is rejected. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2020 (WINFAP Files v9).

Descriptions from the National River Flow Archive (UKCEH). NRFA station record ↗

Gauge Details

How this gauging station is built and how long it has measured (NRFA / UKCEH).

Gauge type
Gauging structure
Operating since
1971
Station datum
211.2 mAOD
Flow record
1971–2024 · 53 yrs · 99% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1971
Hydrometric area
25
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Tees at Middleton flooding today?

The current level is 0.50m, which is within the typical range of 0.37 to 1.80m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Middleton?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling slightly. The chart above shows the last 12 hours of measurements by default (up to 7 days), updated roughly every 15 minutes.

Why is the level slowly falling?

When little or no rain has fallen for a while, a river level gradually drops as the water stored in the ground and soil drains away with nothing to replace it. This is called baseflow recession and is normal in dry spells. A gentle decline like this is expected and is not a sign of a problem — downstream gauges often recede a little faster than headwaters further upstream, and levels recover once rain returns.

What is a normal level for the River Tees at Middleton?

The typical range at this station is 0.37m to 1.80m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.80m are higher than usually seen and may indicate a flood risk.

How often is this river level data updated?

Readings are supplied by the Environment Agency gauge. FloodRadar checks for updates roughly every 15 minutes; the timestamp above shows how recent the latest available reading is.

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📮 Flood risk by postcode near this gauge

Postcodes within 5 km with properties in the Environment Agency’s rivers-and-sea flood-risk bands:

Check any UK postcode’s flood risk →

🏠 Buying or renting around here? Get the Property Flood-Risk Report for any English postcode — official risk band, recorded floods, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off. Learn more →