Only one North Wales flood alert says homes could flood, NRW warns
Natural Resources Wales has listed alerts from the Dee Estuary to Borth and along five river systems, with high tides and rain behind the warnings.
By
Lowri Evans
In brief
- NRW issued three coastal and five river flood alerts across North Wales on Saturday 24 October.
- The north-west coast alert runs until the evening of Tuesday 27 October 2026.
- Only the Colwyn and Glaslyn village alert says property flooding is possible.
- NRW says it will keep monitoring each situation.
Flood alerts are in force across North Wales, with Leader Live reporting that Natural Resources Wales (NRW) confirmed on Saturday 24 October that alerts were in place across numerous counties. For each one, an NRW spokesperson said the situation would continue to be monitored.
Earlier coverage of the weather affecting the region is available in our report on Storm Austen and North Wales. The alerts below are those listed by NRW, each with the time at which it was issued, and they fall into two groups: warnings about the sea and warnings about rivers.
Coastal alerts and tide timings
Three alerts concern the coast, and each ties the risk to the combination of high tides and weather conditions. The first, issued at 10.44am, runs along the North Wales coast from the Dee Estuary to Abergele and applies to the evening high tide on 24 October 2026. The other two are set out in the table.
| Area | Issued | Risk period |
|---|---|---|
| Dee Estuary to Abergele | 10.44am | Evening high tide on 24 October 2026 |
| West coast of Anglesey, Cemlyn Bay to the Menai Strait | 10.40am | From 20:15 in the evening to 02:45 the next morning |
| North-west Wales coast, Menai Strait to Borth | 10.39am | From the evening high tide until the evening of Tuesday 27 October 2026 |
The north-west Wales alert therefore stretches over several days, while the Anglesey window is limited to a single night. That alert is the one that takes in the Menai Strait shoreline on the Gwynedd side, running southwards as far as Borth.
River alerts across the region
Five alerts cover rivers, and four of them expect flooding of low-lying land and roads. In several areas NRW says rain is currently falling and river levels are above normal.
- River Clwyd, Clocaenog to Rhuddlan (issued 1.03pm): flooding of low-lying land and roads expected, with rainfall affecting the area.
- Rivers Elwy and Gele, Gwytherin to St Asaph, including Abergele (issued 1pm): the same expectation of flooding to land and roads, with rain ongoing.
- River Conwy, from the upper valley around Dolwyddelan down to the estuary (issued 5.35pm): flooding of low-lying land and roads expected, with river levels above normal.
- Rivers Glaslyn and Dwyryd, Dyffryn Ardudwy to Nant Gwynant (issued 2.07pm): flooding of low-lying land and roads expected, with levels above normal.
- Part of a village beside the Colwyn and Glaslyn rivers (issued 5.34pm): levels are rising and flooding to property is possible. Streets named in the alert include Dolfair and Caernarfon Road, along with Gwynant Street, Sygun Terrace and Church Street.
The village alert is the only one where NRW says property flooding is possible, and it also expects flooding of low-lying land and roads there. The Clwyd, Elwy and Gele alerts, by contrast, were issued around midday and early afternoon, while the Conwy and village alerts came later, at 5.35pm and 5.34pm.
What NRW advises near the coast
The same advice accompanies all three coastal alerts, and it applies most directly to the evening high tide on Saturday 24 October. NRW attaches a closing line to each notice: its spokesperson says the situation will continue to be monitored.
Photo: Jan van der Wolf / Pexels
