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0.02

Woolsington

Ouse Burn
Tyne catchment • Woolsington • Tyne and Wear • ID: 023018 • Level
(22m ago) • 2 readings/hr • 176 views

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Current Level
0.021 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.141 m
24h Min
0.021 m
Typical Range
0.03 - 1.30
m
Highest Recorded
1.70 m
EA official record
1.70 in our data (since Oct 1983)
Current level is 1% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.9 cm over 11h
08 Oct 10:30 ▬ steady 0.021 m
08 Oct 10:00 ▬ steady 0.021 m
08 Oct 09:15 ▬ steady 0.021 m
08 Oct 09:00 ▬ steady 0.021 m
08 Oct 07:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.022 m
08 Oct 06:30 ▬ steady 0.023 m
08 Oct 05:30 ▬ steady 0.023 m
08 Oct 05:15 ▬ steady 0.023 m
08 Oct 05:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.023 m
08 Oct 04:45 ▬ steady 0.024 m
08 Oct 04:30 ▬ steady 0.024 m
08 Oct 04:00 ▬ steady 0.024 m
08 Oct 03:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.024 m
08 Oct 03:30 ▬ steady 0.025 m
08 Oct 03:15 ▬ steady 0.025 m
08 Oct 03:00 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.025 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▬ steady 0.029 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▬ steady 0.029 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▬ steady 0.030 m
07 Oct 23:15 0.030 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Woolsington
  • Watercourse: Ouse Burn
  • Nearest Town: Woolsington
  • County: Tyne and Wear
  • Nearest reservoir: Whittle Dene (13.0 km) · 71.0% full (as of 28 Dec 2025)
  • Coordinates: 55°1'24"N 1°41'53"W (55.023247, -1.698085)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Jan 1983
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 023018
  • RLOI id: 8222 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 023018-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 8 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Tyne
  • Typical Range: 0.031 – 1.300 m
  • Drainage Area: 9.0 km² upstream of this gauge
  • 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
  • EA Cross-check: 0.02 m (EA at 8 Oct 10:00)
  • 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 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 Tributary Of Ouse Burn · 1.8 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
4 spills · 29 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Trib Of Prestwick Carr · 3.5 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Sugley Dene · 4.0 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
1 spill · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 4.1 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
48 spills · 223 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 4.1 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 4.1 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
47 spills · 511 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont, Tributary Of · 4.2 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Northumbrian Water · into Pont · 4.4 km away in a straight line · not connected to this gauge on the river map
29 spills · 103 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

21 more within 6 km whose connection is not known.

10 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

This gauge rarely reaches its typical high of 1.30 m: 2 days since 2017. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 1 day
2023 1 day
2022 0 days
2021 0 days
2020 0 days
2019 0 days
2018 0 days
2017 0 days

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2010 for the 13 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.8 km away).

8flood warnings 60flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 8 Apr 2024 — Tyne estuary at Derwenthaugh

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 1
2024 1 3
2023 1 8
2022 0 2
2021 0 6
2020 0 1
2019 0 6
2018 0 1
2017 0 1
2016 1 4
2015 0 2
2013 0 8
2012 5 13
2011 0 3
2010 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 Woolsington 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

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
0.31
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
691 mm/yr
1991–2020 · -1% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
10%
partly urbanised
Median Annual Flood
3.31 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
5.08 m³/s
6 Sep 2008 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 0.0740.2830.0280.0035% (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 3%Grassland 32%Arable 49%Urban 17%
Arable 62% → 49% since 1990

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

Informal flat-V weir with ultrasonics between 2001 and 2007.

More detail

The catchment

Small (9 sq.km), relatively low-lying catchment on moderate permeability bedrock, but with significant Boulder Clay cover. Predominantly arable with some grassland and around a tenth of built-up area. No known catchment changes.

The station

Informal flat-V weir (3m wide). Station moved after the building of the Metro underground line and supplemented in October 2001 by ultrasonic measuring equipment (removed 2007).

How it measures flow

Structure drowns at moderate flows and wing walls overtopped 2-5 times per year. Ultrasonic installed in 2001 to calibrate peak flows (removed 2007). Ultrasonic equipment produces good record with no drop-outs. Analysis of uncertainties in the ultrasonic rating calculation suggests the lower and upper bounds for QMAX are -17% and +44% at this site. Three peak flow ratings applied across period of record. Rating pre-1991 (before Metro line built) established from current metering. Post 1991 rating derived from ultrasonic data and refined in June 2003 to align with more recent high flow gaugings. Current rating (from June 2003) is a composite: theoretical weir equation used below 0.34m and ultrasonic data from 2003-07 plus check gaugings used to derive the rating at higher levels. There is uncertainty regarding the modular limit of the structure, possibly due to weed/vegetation growth downstream and there are few high flow gaugings.

Flow regime

Responsive natural regime with no known artificial influences.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in October 2018 (WINFAP Files v7).

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
1991
Station datum
63.4 mAOD
Flow record
1983–2024 · 41 yrs · 90% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1973
Hydrometric area
23
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the Ouse Burn at Woolsington flooding today?

The current level is 0.02m, which is below the typical range. Flooding is very unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Woolsington?

Based on the most recent readings, the level is currently steady. 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 Ouse Burn at Woolsington?

The typical range at this station is 0.03m to 1.30m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.30m 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 →