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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.54 at 20:00, now 0.50
0.50

Otterburn

Rede
Tyne catchment • Elishaw • Northumberland • ID: 023033 • Level
(32m ago) • 2 readings/hr • 135 views

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Current Level
0.501 m
▼ Easing
24h Max
0.537 m
24h Min
0.432 m
Typical Range
0.35 - 2.80
m
Highest Recorded
3.58 m
EA official record
3.58 in our data (since Jun 2000)
Current level is 14% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -2 cm over 5h
10 Oct 05:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.501 m
10 Oct 04:45 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.504 m
10 Oct 04:15 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.505 m
10 Oct 04:00 ▬ steady 0.506 m
10 Oct 03:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.506 m
10 Oct 03:30 ▬ steady 0.508 m
10 Oct 03:15 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.508 m
10 Oct 03:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.510 m
10 Oct 02:45 ▬ steady 0.512 m
10 Oct 02:30 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.512 m
10 Oct 02:15 ▬ steady 0.513 m
10 Oct 02:00 ▼ -0.1 cm 0.513 m
10 Oct 01:45 ▬ steady 0.514 m
10 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.514 m
10 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.517 m
10 Oct 01:00 ▲ +0.1 cm 0.520 m
10 Oct 00:45 ▬ steady 0.519 m
10 Oct 00:30 ▬ steady 0.519 m
10 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.519 m
10 Oct 00:00 0.523 m

Station Details

  • Monitoring Station: Otterburn
  • Watercourse: River Rede
  • Nearest Town: Elishaw
  • County: Northumberland
  • Nearest reservoir: Catcleugh (15.1 km) · 100.0% full (as of 28 Dec 2025)
  • Coordinates: 55°14'40"N 2°12'58"W (55.244482, -2.216223)
  • Open in: Google Maps · Apple Maps (opens your maps app)
  • Date Opened: 1 Oct 1998
  • Status: Active
  • Station Type: River level station
Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 023033
  • RLOI id: 8158 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 023033-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: No
  • Catchment Area: Tyne
  • Typical Range: 0.349 – 2.800 m
  • Drainage Area: 181 km² upstream of this gauge
  • Flow Data: Daily mean flow (m³/s) to 8 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: 0.50 m (EA at 10 Oct 05:15)
  • 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 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.

1 other overflow within 6 km is downstream of this gauge or on another branch of the river network, so it is 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 2.80 m on about 3 days. This year so far: 1 day.

2026 1 day so far
2025 1 day
2024 1 day
2023 4 days
2022 2 days
2021 3 days
2020 5 days
2019 3 days
2018 2 days
2017 2 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 4 flood areas linked to this gauge (nearest 1.1 km away).

12flood warnings 73flood alerts

Most recent flood warning: 12 Mar 2026 — River Rede at Otterburn Mill and Brownchesters Farm

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 2 5
2025 0 12
2024 4 13
2023 2 12
2022 0 2
2021 0 2
2020 2 3
2019 1 2
2018 0 1
2017 0 3
2016 0 3
2015 1 5
2014 0 1
2013 0 6
2012 0 2
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 Elishaw flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. These are the 4 areas 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
0.31
flashy — rain runs off fast
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,195 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +6% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.0%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
145 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
133 m³/s
5 Dec 2015 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 4.0216.121.480.4115% (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 33%Grassland 40%Heath/scrub 26%Other 1%
Heath/scrub 33% → 26% 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

Open channel peak flow station draining the Cheviot Hills.

More detail

The catchment

An elongated catchment draining southwards from the Cheviot Hills. Partly within Kielder Forest Park, land use largely upland forestry and rough grazing. No known catchment changes.

The station

Originally a four path ultrasonic gauge in open channel, installed to develop a rating. Channel is contained to 3.2m, where after it flows over a 60m wide flood plain on the right bank. All transducers mounted in the channel. Ultrasonic gauge removed in 2010.

How it measures flow

One peak flow rating applied across period of record derived from ultrasonic velocity data and check gaugings. Rating includes estimation of out of bank flow, which was not measured by the ultrasonic meter. The current rating is known to over-estimate flows above bankful (approx. 2.8m) and is currently (July 2022) being reviewed.

Flow regime

Catchment includes Catcleugh Reservoir, which controls 40 sq.km of the catchment.

The flow record

Full period of record peak flow data reviewed and released in September 2019 (WINFAP Files v8).

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
Velocity–area
Operating since
2000
Flow record
2000–2024 · 24 yrs · 99% complete
Peak-flow record
since 2000
Hydrometric area
23
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Rede at Otterburn flooding today?

The current level is 0.50m, which is within the typical range of 0.35 to 2.80m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Otterburn?

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. Only about 8.0mm of rain has fallen nearby in the last 7 days, so the flow is being sustained mainly by groundwater. 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 Rede at Otterburn?

The typical range at this station is 0.35m to 2.80m, based on Environment Agency historical data. Levels above 2.80m 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 →