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Water Level Easing
Easing — down from 0.52 at 16:00, now 0.42
0.42

Kirkby Stephen

Eden
Eden and Esk catchment • Kirkby Stephen • Westmorland and Furness • ID: 760101 • Level
(1h ago) • 4 readings/hr • 210 views

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Current Level
0.417 m
▼ Easing (-1cm/hr)
24h Max
0.684 m
24h Min
0.417 m
Typical Range
0.07 - 1.40
m
Highest Recorded
2.73 m
EA official record
2.73 in our data (since Feb 1976)
Current level is 15% of this
🚽 Sewage overflows nearby

Recent Water Levels

🌍 floodradar.co.uk
1 day

Recent Readings

Falling · -6 cm over 6h
08 Oct 01:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.417 m
08 Oct 01:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.420 m
08 Oct 01:00 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.423 m
08 Oct 00:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.426 m
08 Oct 00:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.428 m
08 Oct 00:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.431 m
08 Oct 00:00 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.434 m
07 Oct 23:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.438 m
07 Oct 23:30 ▼ -1 cm 0.440 m
07 Oct 22:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.451 m
07 Oct 22:15 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.453 m
07 Oct 22:00 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.456 m
07 Oct 21:45 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.458 m
07 Oct 21:30 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.461 m
07 Oct 21:15 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.463 m
07 Oct 21:00 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.467 m
07 Oct 20:45 ▼ -0.2 cm 0.471 m
07 Oct 20:30 ▼ -0.3 cm 0.473 m
07 Oct 20:15 ▼ -0.4 cm 0.476 m
07 Oct 20:00 0.480 m

Station Details

Technical details: references, datum, range, flow archive
  • Station Reference: 760101
  • RLOI id: 5157 (the EA's check-for-flooding station id)
  • EA Gauge ID: 760101-level-stage-i-15_min-m
  • Parameter: Level
  • Unit: m
  • Typical rise rate: 7 cm/hr (p95 sustained over 90 days)
  • Typical data delay: ~22 min (measured reading→publication lag)
  • Tidal: No
  • Lock / structure: No
  • Catchment Area: Eden and Esk
  • Typical Range: 0.072 – 1.400 m
  • Drainage Area: 69 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: 0.42 m (EA at 8 Oct 01:45)
  • 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

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.

2 storm overflows are traced upstream of this gauge, the nearest 1.1 km away along the river. 0 report discharging now, 2 report not discharging.

💧
United Utilities · into River Eden Via Sws · 1.1 km upstream along the river
39 spills · 63 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last
Reaches the river through a sewer, so where it enters is approximate.
💧
United Utilities · into River Eden · 3.0 km upstream along the river
16 spills · 116 hours in 2025
Not discharging now · last

7 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 5 days. This year so far: 2 days.

2026 2 days, 2 of them high · 2 high so far
2025 4 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2024 5 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2023 8 days, 7 of them high · 7 high
2022 2 days, 1 of them high · 1 high
2021 2 days, 2 of them high · 2 high
2020 10 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2019 6 days, 5 of them high · 5 high
2018 1 day, 1 of them high · 1 high
2017 3 days, 3 of them high · 3 high

Counted from each day's highest reading. Days with missing or implausible readings are left out. The darker part is days above 1.50 m, the level this gauge tops only a few days a year.

Flood history near this gauge

Official Environment Agency warnings issued since 2006 for the 1 flood area linked to this gauge (nearest 9.8 km away).

0flood warnings 225flood alerts

Most recent flood alert: 25 Mar 2026 — Upper River Eden

Year by year
YearWarningsAlerts
2026 0 4
2025 0 11
2024 0 10
2023 0 8
2022 0 2
2021 0 11
2020 0 10
2019 0 10
2018 0 3
2017 0 4
2016 0 8
2015 0 18
2014 0 9
2013 0 11
2012 0 11
2011 0 9
2010 0 9
2009 0 15
2008 0 17
2007 0 22
2006 0 23

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 Kirkby Stephen flood history.

Flood areas linked to this gauge

Flood warnings and alerts are issued for whole areas. This is the area linked to this gauge, nearest first.

Catchment Character

🌊 Steep & flashy Steep catchment sheds rain quickly — expect fast, sharp rises after 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
0.41
mixed response
Avg Annual Rainfall
1,612 mm/yr
1991–2020 · +16% since 1941–70
Urban Extent
0.5%
largely rural
Median Annual Flood
89.15 m³/s
QMED — typical yearly peak flow
Highest Daily Mean Flow
122 m³/s
5 Dec 2015 · daily mean, not the instantaneous peak
Flow-Duration Curve
mean 2.7210.901.070.1735% (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 1%Grassland 72%Heath/scrub 25%Urban 1%
Grassland 77% → 72% 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

Compound broad-crested weir, the highest gauging station on the River Eden. Gauges a high relief, natural catchment.

More detail

The catchment

High relief catchment draining Carboniferous Limestone which forms most of the watershed. Middle reaches floored by Permian Sandstone. Hill peat and moorland, variable Boulder Clay cover. No catchment changes known.

The station

Non-standard compound broad-crested weir, built in 1971 to stabilise the bed and act as a low flow control. In 2007 extensive revetment works on left bank were carried out to prevent bank slippage into channel; weir repaired in 2008.

How it measures flow

Gravel bed, good parallel approach. Crest corrosion a problem prior to addition of iron crest. Insensitive at low flows. Structure drowns and modest bypassing occurs at highest flows (some gauged evidence of its magnitude). Low flows gauged by wading; cableway measures higher flows. One peak flow rating applied across period of record. Rated by gaugings to 2.5m. Slight alterations and repairs to weir between 2nd May and 19th June 1989, with no significant change to rating.

Flow regime

Natural catchment with no known abstractions or returns.

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
Gauging structure
Operating since
1971
Station datum
158.1 mAOD
Flow record
1971–2024 · 53 yrs · 95% complete
Peak-flow record
since 1971
Hydrometric area
76
Measured by
Environment Agency

Frequently asked questions

Is the River Eden at Kirkby Stephen flooding today?

The current level is 0.42m, which is within the typical range of 0.07 to 1.40m. Flooding is unlikely at this level.

Is the river level rising or falling at Kirkby Stephen?

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 Eden at Kirkby Stephen?

The typical range at this station is 0.07m 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 →