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Skipton Town Hall on High StreetPhoto: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0
D−Hazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Skipton · Environment Agency

11% of Skipton’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea, more than in 96% of UK towns

On the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences, “high or medium” means at least a 1 in 100 chance of flooding from rivers or the sea in any year. For hazard risk, Skipton grades D−: #49 of 54 in North Yorkshire.

1982worst recorded flood22flood warnings since 2006100%in a radon Affected Area
In brief

What stands out about Skipton’s hazards

From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.

A river town11% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea, more than 96% of UK towns.Remembers 1982Floodwater covered 21 hectares of today’s Skipton in 1982; 72 of today’s households live inside past flood outlines.22 flood warnings since 2006For the parts of Skipton the Environment Agency warns directly; the most recent on 1 January 2025.Radon in parts92% of the town is in 1 km squares where 5% or more of homes may be above the radon action level.
By hazard

What Skipton faces

Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.

Rivers and the sea

11%of homes at high or medium risk
More than the typical UK town · more than 96% of towns
870 homes by the EA’s own count

Surface water

5.3%of homes at high or medium risk
More than 72% of UK towns
Rivers and sea: 11%

Past floods

8years with a recorded flood
Last recorded: February 2022
72 households inside past outlines

The Eller Beck

2.32 mhighest in winter 2025–26 at Skipton Eller Beck
24th-highest of 35 winters
Record 3.18 m, October 2000

Flood warnings

22flood warnings since 2006
140 flood alerts for the wider area
Last warning 1 January 2025

Radon

100%of the town in a radon Affected Area
Highest band here: 10–30% of homes
92% in squares of 5% or more
Not on this page: coastal erosion, subsidence and shrink-swell ground (the British Geological Survey licenses it), groundwater flooding and reservoir failure.
Hazard risk Grade

Skipton grades D− for hazard risk

Flood risk from rivers and the sea, against all UK towns.

Homes at high or medium flood risk (11%)Fewer than 4% of UK towns

The share of homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea, ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more: fewer homes at risk is better. Towns with none at high or medium risk are ordered by their share at low risk, so they don’t all share one score. Surface water and radon aren’t graded: they are described below.

Flood map

Where the water goes in Skipton

Turn layers on and off. Blue is the risk from rivers and the sea; pink is where heavy rain collects. Both allow for flood defences.

Recorded flood: 1978Recorded flood: 1982Recorded flood: 1995Recorded flood: 2000River Aire, River AIre: 2002Recorded flood: 2015Recorded flood: 2020Recorded flood: 2022© OpenStreetMap contributors · EA NaFRA2
HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterSkipton’s built-up area

The river and sea risk follows the River Aire, the Eller Beck and the Ings Beck. Surface-water risk is patchier: dips, underpasses and small streams.

Rivers and the sea

11% of Skipton’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 3.6% are at low risk.

High risk8.8%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more696 homes, EA count
Medium risk2.2%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 100174 homes, EA count
Low risk3.6%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000316 homes, EA count
Where Skipton sits among 3,735 UK towns
35%None
23%Under 0.5%
9%0.5–1%
11%1–2%
11%2–5%
5%5–10%
3%10–20%Skipton
2%20% +

Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; Skipton has more than 96% of towns.

Towns its size: 341st of 354 from the fewest homes at risk
#TownPeopleHigh or med.
1Rothwell West Yorkshire20,9640%
2Hazlemere Buckinghamshire20,0060%
3Failsworth Greater Manchester19,9620%
…
339Penwortham Lancashire20,4898.6%
340St Ives Cambridgeshire16,81811%
341Skipton North Yorkshire15,05011%
342Thorne South Yorkshire12,30311%
343Selby North Yorkshire19,48012%
…
353Dunscroft and Hatfield South Yorkshire14,00051%
354Goole East Riding of Yorkshire20,17394%

UK towns of 11,000 to 21,000 people.

The Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (NaFRA2, June 2026) counts each postcode’s homes by band; the shares weight those postcodes by Census 2021 households. The EA counts include homes built since 2021.

Surface water

Rivers and the sea, more than heavy rain, are Skipton’s flood risk

Surface water is rain that falls faster than drains and the ground can take it. It is mapped separately from rivers and the sea, and it is not in the Hazard risk Grade.

Surface water5.3%
Rivers and the sea11%
0%10.5%21% of homes

About 2.8% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 2.6% at medium risk: roughly 390 households. A further 7.1% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 72% of UK towns.

~390
households at high or medium risk
7.1%
of homes at low risk
72%
of UK towns have a smaller share
9,470
addresses read on the map

Our estimate: every address in the town (ONS NSUL) read on the Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Surface Water map (NaFRA2, 2025), each postcode’s share weighted by its Census 2021 households. Neither agency publishes a count of homes for surface water, so treat it as a guide; one street can differ from the next.

Flood history

Skipton has flooded in 8 recorded years since 1978, most of all in 1982

Every flood the Environment Agency has mapped inside Skipton’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.

  1. 2022February 2022: River flooding recorded1 hectare inside today’s built-up area · February Flood Incident -Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin
  2. 2020February 2020: River flooding recordedUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area · February Flood Incident - Storm Ciara
  3. 2015December 2015: River flooding recorded6 hectares inside today’s built-up area
  4. 2002February 2002: The River Aire and the River AIre overflowed5 hectares inside today’s built-up area · River Aire. Skipton to Kildwick., River AIre. Gargrave to Skipton.
  5. 2000October 2000: River flooding recorded18 hectares inside today’s built-up area
  6. 1995February 1995: River flooding recorded4 hectares inside today’s built-up area
Show all 8
  1. 1982January 1982: River flooding recorded21 hectares inside today’s built-up area
  2. 1978December 1978: River flooding recorded4 hectares inside today’s built-up area
The worst: 198221 ha

Floodwater covered 21 hectares of what is now Skipton in 1982, the largest flood the record holds here (January).

72 of Skipton’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.

Since 1982, the largest recorded flood inside the town covered 18 hectares.

River levels

The Eller Beck at Skipton Eller Beck: highest 3.18 m, in October 2000

The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Skipton Eller Beck gauge, since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.07 m and 0.75 m here.

Highest level each winter, metres
Winter 1990–91: highest 2.61 m · 24 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 2.84 m · 27 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 2.12 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 2.16 m · 30 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 2.89 m · 40 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 1.41 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 2.11 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 2.20 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 2.77 m · 39 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 3.05 m on 4 June 2000 · 43 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 3.18 m on 31 October 2000 · 41 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 3.00 m on 11 February 2002 · 43 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 2.20 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 2.86 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 2.78 m · 18 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 2.16 m · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 2.65 m · 49 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 2.97 m on 21 January 2008 · 54 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 2.27 m · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 2.68 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 2.72 m · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 2.82 m · 48 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 2.46 m · 35 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 2.14 m · 37 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 2.27 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 3.13 m on 26 December 2015 · 66 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 2.25 m · 29 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 2.83 m · 30 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 3.04 m on 9 February 2020 · 68 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 3.02 m on 2 November 2020 · 47 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 2.86 m · 33 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 2.43 m · 44 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 2.56 m · 62 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 2.92 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 2.32 m · 31 days above the normal range’00–01’15–16’99–00Record 3.18 m, 2000Top of normal range
1990–912025–26
The highest days on record
  • 31 October 20003.18 m
  • 26 December 20153.13 m
  • 4 June 20003.05 m
  • 9 February 20203.04 m
  • 2 November 20203.02 m
  • 11 February 20023.00 m

The Eller Beck has topped its normal range on 1,219 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2019–20 and 2015–16. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 24th-highest of the 35.

Environment Agency Hydrology API, Skipton Eller Beck (station F1530), daily maximum level; the record and normal range from the EA’s stage scale. Live river levels are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding.

Flood warnings

No flood warning or alert is in force for Skipton · 22 warnings in 20 years

The Environment Agency has 9 flood warning areas and 1 alert area reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Skipton (checked 8 November 2026, 08:49). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →
Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Skipton
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Flood warning (flooding expected)Flood alert (flooding possible)

Of the 22 warnings, 12 were for River Aire at Snaygill Industrial Estate and Cononley Business Park and 3 for Ings Beck at Ings Lane, Skipton. 2015 had the most warnings (10).

The most recent warning was on 1 January 2025.

Show the 10 warning and alert areas
AreaKindSince 2006Now
River Aire at Snaygill Industrial Estate and Cononley Business ParkWarning area12None
Ings Beck at Ings Lane, SkiptonWarning area3None
Eller Beck at Central SkiptonWarning area2None
Eller Beck at Carleton Business Park, SkiptonWarning area1None
Eller Beck at Sandylands, SkiptonWarning area1None
Eller Beck in the Broughton Road area in SkiptonWarning area1None
Eller Beck at Engine Shed Lane, SkiptonWarning area1None
Eller Beck at Snaygill Industrial EstateWarning area1None
Waller Hill Beck at SkiptonWarning area0None
Upper River Aire catchmentAlert area140None

Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (first issues only, not updates; “flood watch” counted as an alert before 2011) and the real-time flood-monitoring API. Sign up for free warnings on GOV.UK or call Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Radon

Parts of Skipton are in radon Affected Areas, up to the 10–30% band

Radon is a natural radioactive gas from the ground; long exposure raises the risk of lung cancer. The atlas gives the chance that a home in each 1 km square is above the UK action level (200 Bq/m³).

SD9750: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9751: 5–10% of homes above the action levelSD9752: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9849: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9850: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9851: 5–10% of homes above the action levelSD9852: 5–10% of homes above the action levelSD9949: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9950: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9951: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSD9952: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSE0051: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSE0052: 5–10% of homes above the action level© OpenStreetMap contributors · BGS/UKHSA
1–3%5–10%10–30%
Share of the town’s area in each band
1–3% of homes8%
5–10% of homes39%
10–30% of homes53%

100% of Skipton’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level), and 92% in squares of 5% or more.

The squares are indicative: each takes the highest band found anywhere inside it, so most homes in a coloured square are below it. Only a three-month test in the home gives a real answer.

BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3. Check an address at UKradon.org.

Neighbours

Flood risk in the places around Skipton

Share of homes at high or medium and at low risk from rivers and the sea. Tap a town for its page.

Embsay: Hazard risk CCarleton-in-Craven: Hazard risk CLow Bradley: Hazard risk C+Gargrave: Hazard risk DCross Hills: Hazard risk D−Silsden: Hazard risk C−Sutton-in-Craven: Hazard risk D−EmbsayCarleton-in-CravenLow BradleyGargraveCross HillsSilsdenSutton-in-CravenSkipton
ABCD
TownPeopleHigh or mediumLowHazard
Skipton15,05011%3.6%D−
Embsay1,7231.1%0.9%C
Carleton-in-Craven1,0601.3%2.4%C
Low Bradley1,2030.5%0.1%C+
Gargrave1,5023.7%5%D
Cross Hills4,80912%9.6%D−
Silsden8,3921.7%1.4%C−
Sutton-in-Craven2,71913%11%D−

Sutton-in-Craven, 4.7 miles south, has the most homes at risk around Skipton (13% at high or medium).

Be ready

Get ready for what Skipton faces

Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.

Get the warnings
  • Sign up free for Environment Agency flood warnings by text, call or email.
  • Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
  • Skipton’s warning areas include Eller Beck at Snaygill Industrial Estate and Eller Beck in the Broughton Road area in Skipton.
Sign up ↗
In a cloudburst
  • Surface water rises in minutes, often with no warning issued: stay out of underpasses and dips.
  • Keep the gullies and drains outside your home clear of leaves.
  • Report a blocked road drain to the council.
Radon
  • Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
  • Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
  • New homes in radon areas are built with protection: basic from 3%, full from 10%.
UKradon ↗
Before you buy or rent in Skipton
  • Check the address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service: it gives rivers and sea and surface water separately.
  • Ask whether the home has flooded or had a flood insurance claim; the TA6 property form asks the seller.
  • Homes built before 2009 can get flood cover through Flood Re, the government-backed scheme; newer homes can’t.
  • Check radon for the address on UKradon.org (a small fee) or ask the seller for a test result.
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Defences are counted. Both agencies’ maps allow for flood defences and the chance they are overtopped or fail, so a town behind a defence scheme can show few homes at high risk and many at low risk.
  • Surface water is our estimate. Neither agency publishes a count of homes at risk from surface water, so we read each address on the map. A flat on a hill and a basement in a dip can share a postcode.
  • Past floods are what was recorded. The flood outlines come from surveys, aerial photographs and reports; many small floods, and most surface-water floods, were never mapped.
  • One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service before you buy or rent.

Check the long-term flood risk for an address on GOV.UK →

Questions about flooding and hazards in Skipton

Does Skipton flood?

The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the town was in February 2022. 11% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences. About 5.3% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Skipton grades D− for hazard risk against UK towns.

Which parts of Skipton are at risk of flooding?

From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: River Aire at Snaygill Industrial Estate and Cononley Business Park, Ings Beck at Ings Lane, Skipton, Eller Beck at Central Skipton and Eller Beck at Snaygill Industrial Estate. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the town. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.

When did Skipton last flood?

The recorded flood outlines inside the town run from 1978 to 2022 (8 years); the largest was in 1982. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the town since 2006, most recently on 1 January 2025.

Is Skipton at risk of surface water flooding?

About 2.8% of homes are at high risk and 2.6% at medium risk from surface water, against 11% at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. Surface water floods come with little warning, and the agencies don’t issue warnings for them.

Is radon a problem in Skipton?

100% of the town’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas, and 92% is in 1 km squares where 5% or more of homes may be above the action level. Most homes are below it; a three-month test is the only way to know.

Are there flood warnings in Skipton now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Skipton at 8 November 2026, 08:49. Live warnings are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding service and Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right 2026. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026.

Sources: Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea, postcodes in areas at risk (June 2026); Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales (May 2026); ONS Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (NaFRA2, 2025) and Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales surface water and small watercourses, read at every address (ONS National Statistics UPRN Lookup, September 2026) and weighted by Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Recorded Flood Outlines and Natural Resources Wales historic flood map, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Environment Agency Hydrology API (daily maximum river level) and flood-monitoring stage scales · Environment Agency real-time flood-monitoring API · Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (January 2006 to June 2026) and flood warning and alert areas · BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3, by 1 km square · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.