Flood watch: the tide, the Avon and the Frome

Any Environment Agency flood warning in force around Bristol, plus the live level at the tide gauge and the river gauges that speak for the harbour, the Avon and the Frome.

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River levels

Levels are measured against each gauge’s usual range — “above typical” doesn’t mean flooding, but it’s the first thing that moves when water is on its way.

Gauge	Speaks for	Reading	Level
Avonmouth Portbury tide gauge	The tide at the mouth of the Avon — a surge reaches here before it reaches the city. Measured against sea level, so the Environment Agency publishes no “typical range” for it.	2.399 m	No typical range published
Netham Weir, River Avon	The Avon at Netham, where the sluice divides the river between the New Cut and the Feeder into the Floating Harbour.	0.323 m	Within typical range
Bristol Harbour, Passage Street	The Frome where it comes out from under the city centre into the Floating Harbour.	6.178 m	Within typical range
Eastville, Bristol Frome	The Frome through Eastville Park and Snuff Mills, upstream of the culverts under the centre.	7.501 m	Within typical range
Ashton Vale, River Avon	The tidal Avon below the city, past Ashton and Leigh Woods.	0.979 m	Within typical range
Brislington Brook	The brook through Brislington and St Anne's — one of the small watercourses that floods from rainfall rather than tide.	0.039 m	Within typical range

Each reading is metres on that gauge’s own scale, so compare a gauge with itself over time — not one gauge with another.

Worth knowing

Tide first, rain second

Most of what is at risk in central Bristol is at risk from tidal surge coming up the Avon, not from rain falling on the city. That is why the tide gauge at Avonmouth is on this page, and why a dry day can still be a dangerous one. The small brooks are the exception: Brislington Brook and the upper Frome respond to heavy rainfall.

What is at risk now

The council's own strategy work puts over 1,000 homes and businesses in central Bristol at risk today, with around 400 more in neighbouring areas. Without further work, more than 3,100 properties in and around the city could be at risk from severe tidal flooding by the end of the century.

The defences being finished by March 2027

The £80 million Avonmouth and Severnside scheme is building 17 km of improved defences from Lamplighter's Marsh in the south to Aust in the north — steel sheets, raised banks, concrete walls and flood gates — and is due to complete in 2026/27, which means by the end of March 2027. It will reduce flood risk to around 2,500 homes and businesses. It is a partnership between Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council and the Environment Agency, and it defends the industrial edge of the city rather than the centre: the longer Avon Riversides 2100 programme covers the river through Bristol itself.

Free warnings, straight from the Environment Agency

You can sign up for free flood warnings by phone, text or email for your own address at gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings. That is the service that wakes people up at 3am; this page is for checking, not for being alerted. If flooding is putting anyone in danger, call 999.