River Esk at Lealholm Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for River Esk at Lealholm in England, United Kingdom, built from official government gauge data.
- Location England, United Kingdom
- Primary gauge ea-L2905 (Environment Agency)
About River Esk at Lealholm
River Esk at Lealholm is a gauged river in England.
The watershed
For this station, the seasonal pattern is the main guide. The highest typical month is January at 0.25 m (0.82 ft), and the lowest typical month is July at 0.07 m (0.22 ft). That kind of spread matters for anyone with a bank, intake, or mooring to think about: winter water sits higher, while midsummer is the period to watch for reduced depth.
The station’s typical annual swing is 18.4 cm (7.2 in), so the day-to-day shape of the river is not flat even in an average year. Over 28 years on record, the reach has also shown much wider extremes than the monthly pattern. The record high was 2.54 m (8.32 ft) in March 1999, and the record low was -0.03 m (-0.11 ft) in August 2018. Those two points show the range this gauge has seen at Lealholm.
What the numbers say
The record high in March 1999 is the level to keep in mind for high-water planning. It tells you this gauge can rise well beyond its monthly typical values. The record low in August 2018 does the same for low-water users: it marks the edge of what the station has already measured, and it is the kind of figure that matters for fish habitat, shallow crossings, and any fixed water take.
The seasonal note fits a temperate river: higher water tends to come in the colder months, and lower water in summer. Here, January sits above July by 0.18 m (0.59 ft), which is a clear enough shift for local use even before any storm or dry spell is added on top.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s river level set against the median for the same calendar day across the station’s 28 years on record. That comparison is more useful than raw elevation because a level only means something when you know what is normal for this date at this gauge.
For this station, the relevant operating agency is the Environment Agency.
How this page is built
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
What you can see for any monitored lake or river
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Alerts that watch the water for you
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Where Nibi comes from
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Coverage
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
Free forever, funded by members
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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