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🌊 Tide going out · high water in ~3h

Portland

Dorset Coast 🌊 Tidal
West Dorset Streams catchment • Portland • Dorset • ID: 44106 • Level
This gauge is tidally influenced — levels rise and fall with each tide, so rapid changes here are normal and don't necessarily indicate flooding.
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 212 views

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You'll be notified when this gauge is rising more than 0.10 m/hr — a sign of rapidly increasing water levels.

Each one is saved as its own alert — pause or remove them individually any time.

Not an emergency service — if in danger call 999. Alerts rely on EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms

Current Level
-0.524 mAOD
▼ Falling (-9cm/hr)
24h Max
0.889 mAOD
24h Min
-0.524 mAOD
Typical Range
-
Highest Recorded
2.02 mAOD
EA official record
A 3.91 reading (16 Mar 2013) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Flood predictions aren't generated for tidal gauges — their levels are driven by the tide, not by catchment rainfall, so the forecast models would have no skill here.

Recent Readings

Falling · -89 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -2 cm -0.524 mAOD
08 Oct 01:15 ▼ -3 cm -0.508 mAOD
08 Oct 01:00 ▼▼ -5 cm -0.478 mAOD
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -4 cm -0.425 mAOD
08 Oct 00:30 ▼ -0.9 cm -0.388 mAOD
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -2 cm -0.379 mAOD
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.8 cm -0.355 mAOD
07 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.6 cm -0.347 mAOD
07 Oct 23:30 ▲ +10 cm -0.341 mAOD
07 Oct 22:30 ▲ +2 cm -0.439 mAOD
07 Oct 22:15 ▼ -2 cm -0.454 mAOD
07 Oct 22:00 ▼▼ -6 cm -0.432 mAOD
07 Oct 21:45 ▼▼ -10 cm -0.376 mAOD
07 Oct 21:30 ▼▼ -9 cm -0.278 mAOD
07 Oct 21:15 ▼▼ -11 cm -0.193 mAOD
07 Oct 21:00 ▼▼ -13 cm -0.087 mAOD
07 Oct 20:45 ▼▼ -11 cm 0.045 mAOD
07 Oct 20:30 ▼▼ -10 cm 0.150 mAOD
07 Oct 20:15 ▼▼ -11 cm 0.252 mAOD
07 Oct 20:00 0.361 mAOD

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Portland
  • Watercourse: Dorset Coast
  • Nearest Town: Portland
  • County: Dorset
  • Coordinates: 50°34'12"N 2°26'28"W (50.569876, -2.441027)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1992
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: Tidal / coastal station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 44106
  • RLOI id: 3282 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 44106-level-tidal_level-i-15_min-mAOD
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: mAOD
  • Typical rise rate: 72 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: 🌊 Yes — levels follow the tide
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: West Dorset Streams
  • EA Cross-check: -0.57 mAOD (EA at 8 Oct 01:45)

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.

Nearby

Rainfall & Weather

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Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 13 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.7 km away).

12severe warnings 177flood warnings 191flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 18 Feb 2026 — River Wey from Upwey to Weymouth

Year by year
YearSevereWarningsAlerts
2026 0 9 28
2025 0 1 8
2024 0 11 19
2023 0 13 16
2022 0 7 6
2021 0 4 4
2020 0 15 12
2019 0 10 13
2018 0 8 13
2017 0 5 5
2016 0 4 11
2015 0 2 2
2014 11 56 20
2013 1 11 13
2012 0 6 16
2011 0 0 5
2009 0 5 0
2008 0 5 0
2007 0 2 0
2006 0 3 0

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 Portland flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 13 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Show 5 more

Frequently asked questions

Is the Dorset Coast at Portland flooding today?

The latest recorded level is -0.52m. Compare it with the recent history on the chart above to judge whether levels are unusually high.

Is the river level rising or falling at Portland?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently falling. 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.

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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Free live river-level widget — ideal for parish councils, angling clubs and local sites. Updates automatically.

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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 →