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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.
You'll be notified when a new storm-overflow (sewage) discharge starts within ~3 km of this gauge, based on the water companies' near-real-time feeds.
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EA/SEPA/NRW data and are best-efforts. Terms
Current Level
1.203 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
1.580 m
24h Min
1.203 m
Typical Range
1.14 - 4.83
m
Highest Recorded
6.56 m
EA official record
A 7.65 reading (23 Jan 2015) sits in our unverified raw history and is not treated as the record
Current level is 18% of this
🚽Sewage overflows nearby
Recent Water Levels
🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day
EA forecast (official)
Prediction V2
Prediction Eris
Nimbus beta
Experimental model fusing soil moisture, river flow, groundwater and catchment
character. The shaded band is its 10–90% range, widened so that about 80% of recent outcomes fall inside it.
Under evaluation — not yet promoted, so treat as a second opinion.
River Flow
90 days
Daily mean discharge (m³/s) with the daily min–max band, from the EA Hydrology API. Flow is the volume of water passing the gauge — often a more direct flood signal than level.
Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 6 Oct (2 days behind — the EA publishes each day's mean a day or two after it ends; unchecked, provisional)via EA Hydrology
Storm overflows whose water reaches this gauge on the mapped river network, nearest first by distance along the river. The status is each water company's monitor: it says whether an overflow is discharging, not how much or what it contains.
93 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 5.0 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 91 report not discharging, and for 2 the monitor is offline or has not reported, so their status is not known.
United Utilities · into River Ribble Via Storm Culvert · 4.0 km away in a straight line · discharges into a tidal reach, where the water moves both ways
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
25 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.
5 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 →
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 Samlesbury flood history.
Flood areas linked to this gauge
Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 19 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.
🌊 Fairly flashyResponds fairly quickly to rain, with moderate baseflow between events.
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
0.37
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,420 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +7% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
3.8%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
601 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
765 m³/s
27 Oct 1980 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
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.
Velocity area station; the most downstream on the Ribble, just upstream of the tidal limit.
More detail
The catchment
A large catchment of mixed geology with Carboniferous Limestone, Millstone Grit and Coal Measures overlain with Boulder Clay. Predominantly rural, apart from urban areas of Burnley and Nelson. No significant catchment changes.
The station
Velocity area station built in 1960. Cableway. An additional station was built 1km upstream in October 1970 to measure low/medium flows; a compound Flat V weir with flanking crests. This additional station closed 1981 due to vandalism; subsequently re-opened July 1991 and closed again February 2010.
How it measures flow
Natural gravel shoal control affected by silt and summer weed, just u/s of the tidal limit. No bypassing. Good high flow rating from permanent cableway. Inlet blockage has been a continual problem, affecting many peaks. Multiple peak flow ratings applied across period of record. Works downstream between 1993-95, required different low flow ratings applied before, during, and after these works.
Flow regime
Some small reservoirs in the catchment, but without significant impact on flow regime.
The flow record
All data presented are for the velocity area station, with some infilling from the additional station. December 2010 measurements affected by ice. Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2019 (WINFAP Files v8). Flows prior to 1973 datum change thought to be overestimated and are rejected.
Timing, not cause. Gauges can move together simply because the same rain fell on both.
Frequently asked questions
Is the River Ribble at Samlesbury flooding today?
The current level is 1.20m, which is within the typical range of 1.14 to 4.83m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.
Is the river level rising or falling at Samlesbury?
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.
What is a normal level for the River Ribble at Samlesbury?
The typical range at this station is 1.14m to 4.83m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 4.83m 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:
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