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0.13

Alma Weir

Skell ⚙ Structure
Swale, Ure, Nidd and Upper Ouse catchment • Ripon • North Yorkshire • ID: F2216 • Level
(31m ago) • 4 readings/hr • 200 views

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

Current Level
0.132 m
▬ Steady
24h Max
0.139 m
24h Min
0.125 m
Typical Range
0.11 - 1.40
m
Highest Recorded
1.82 m
EA official record
1.85 in our data (since Feb 2015)
Current level is 7% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

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

Recent Readings

Falling · -0.2 cm over 6h
09 Oct 13:30 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.132 m
09 Oct 13:15 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.131 m
09 Oct 13:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.130 m
09 Oct 12:45 ▼ -0.5 cm 0.128 m
09 Oct 12:30 ▬ steady 0.133 m
09 Oct 12:15 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.133 m
09 Oct 12:00 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.131 m
09 Oct 11:45 ▲ +0.3 cm 0.135 m
09 Oct 11:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.132 m
09 Oct 11:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.133 m
09 Oct 10:45 ▬ steady 0.134 m
09 Oct 10:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.134 m
09 Oct 10:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.135 m
09 Oct 09:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.133 m
09 Oct 09:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.135 m
09 Oct 09:15 ▬ steady 0.137 m
09 Oct 09:00 ▲ +0.2 cm 0.137 m
09 Oct 08:45 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.135 m
09 Oct 08:30 ▬ steady 0.134 m
09 Oct 08:00 0.134 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Alma Weir
  • Watercourse: River Skell
  • Nearest Town: Ripon
  • County: North Yorkshire
  • Nearest reservoir: Lumley Moor Ire (9.2 km) · 44.6% full (as of 28 Sep 2026)
  • Coordinates: 54°8'0"N 1°31'7"W (54.133420, -1.518640)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 17 Jul 1984
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: F2216
  • RLOI id: 8006 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: F2216-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 1 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: ⚙ Yes — lock, weir, sluice or pump
  • Catchment Area: Swale, Ure, Nidd and Upper Ouse
  • Typical Range: 0.111 – 1.400 m
  • Drainage Area: 120 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 7 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: 0.13 m (EA at 9 Oct 13:15)
  • 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

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.

11 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 150 m away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 11 report not discharging.

💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Skell · 150 m upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Skell · 470 m upstream along the river
1 spill · 1 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Skell · 530 m upstream along the river
0 spills · 0 hours in 2025
Not discharging now
💧
Yorkshire Water · into River Skell Via Surface Wtr Sw · 550 m upstream along the river
5 spills · 4 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Reaches the river through a sewer, so where it enters is approximate.
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Skell · 550 m upstream along the river
11 spills · 30 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Skell · 550 m upstream along the river
8 spills · 10 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Skell · 560 m upstream along the river
29 spills · 46 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Skell · 560 m upstream along the river
43 spills · 115 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

3 more further upstream, up to 10.8 km away along the river.

Nearby, connection not known

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

💧
Yorkshire Water · into Skittergate Gutter · 620 m away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
15 spills · 20 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Skittergate Gutter · 620 m away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
11 spills · 49 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Culverted Scour Gutter · 5.3 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
31 spills · 60 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Trib Of Cundall Beck · 5.4 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
114 spills · 276 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into A Tributary Of The River Ure · 5.7 km away in a straight line · its recorded watercourse is not the one mapped beside it
42 spills · 354 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
💧
Yorkshire Water · into Trib Norton Bk/Nunwick Bk/ · 5.9 km away in a straight line · its watercourse is not on the river map
14 spills · 16 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

13 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 1.40 m on about 1 day. This year so far: 0 days.

2026 0 days so far
2025 0 days
2024 1 day
2023 2 days
2022 1 day
2021 2 days
2020 1 day
2019 1 day
2018 1 day
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 2011 for the 7 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 0.3 km away).

26flood warnings 150flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 9 Feb 2024 — Bishop Monkton Beck at Bishop Monkton

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 11
2025 0 7
2024 1 10
2023 3 12
2022 2 5
2021 1 10
2020 8 13
2019 0 12
2018 1 6
2017 0 8
2016 0 6
2015 4 17
2014 0 5
2013 0 6
2012 5 14
2011 1 8

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 Ripon flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 7 areas linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Fairly flashy Responds 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
0.42
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
964 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +9% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
1.5%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
29.04 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
39.09 m³/s
15 Jun 2007 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 1.605.810.7710.1425% (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 9%Grassland 54%Arable 8%Heath/scrub 25%Urban 3%
Grassland 47% → 54% since 1990

Flow affected by: groundwater abstraction.

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

Flat-V weir built to replace original mill weir in 1984. Station closed July 2010 - December 2012 due to construction of Ripon flood alleviation scheme, re-opened December 2012 at new location 60m upstream.

More detail

The catchment

Geology: Millstone Grit and Magnesian Limestone with Boulder Clay in lower catchment. A predominantly rural catchment below moorland (Pennine) headwaters, although Ripon is just u/s of station. No major arable farming in catchment. Significant change in land use with the urban development of Ripon.

The station

Flat-V weir opened 1984 (1:20 cross-slopes, 25m wide). Replaced original Alma Weir. Offtake to Ripon Canal feeder is u/s. Station closed July 2010 - due to construction of Ripon flood alleviation scheme, reopened December 2012 with new structure 60m u/s of old site. New weir is lower and expected to drown in high flows. Ultrasonics installed July 2014 to measure high flows.

How it measures flow

Original (1984) weir had substantial modular range and did not drown. Thought to be reasonably accurate until (occasionally) overtopped during large events, however no cableway for check gauging. Considerable accretion on u/s apron. Theoretical rating developed for new structure and applied from 22/11/2012. It has a lower modular range and is expected to drown in large events. Subject to skewed cross-section due to deposition. Ultrasonic gauge installed here 2014 to measure non-modular flows but performance has been poor so not currently used for peak flow records. Two peak flow ratings cover period of record, for the original weir from 1984 and the new weir from 2012. Good fit to available gaugings. Tail recording by pressure transducer.

Flow regime

Swallow holes u/s of Laver/Skell confluence greatly reduce summer flows. Flood storage reservoir constructed on Laver upstream in 2012 will cause some attenuation of peak flows. Flow regime impacted by Ripon canal feeder.

The flow record

No daily flow data for July 2010-December 2012 due to construction of Ripon flood alleviation scheme. Pre-2010 data reprocessed in 2014 after rating review, including hydraulic modelling to estimate out of bank flow. Records from December 2012 are at new location 60m upstream of original station. 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
1984
Station datum
22.5 mAOD
Flow record
1984–2024 · 40 yrs · 94% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1984
Hydrometric area
27
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Skell at Alma Weir flooding today?

The current level is 0.13m, which is within the typical range of 0.11 to 1.40m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Alma Weir?

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 River Skell at Alma Weir?

The typical range at this station is 0.11m to 1.40m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 1.40m 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 →