Coast and sea

High seas forecast and storm warnings

The general synopsis for UK

At 131200UTC, low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by 141200UTC. Low 48 north 57 west 990 expected 56 north 39 west 962 by same time. Low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by that time. at 131200UTC, new low expected 58 north 42 west 959 by 141200UTC. Low 71 north 12 west 962 moving slowly south losing its identity by same time

Issued at: .

For the period to .

High seas forecast and storm warnings map

Sole

Wind
Westerly, veering northwesterly, 6 or 7, decreasing 4 or 5.
Sea state
Very rough, occasionally high at first, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Shannon

Wind
West or northwest 6 or 7, decreasing 4 or 5.
Sea state
High becoming very rough, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Squally showers.
Visibility
Good.

Rockall

Wind
West or northwest 6 to gale 8, backing southwest 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
High becoming very rough, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Squally showers.
Visibility
Good.

Bailey

Wind
West or northwest 6 to gale 8, backing southwest 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
High becoming very rough, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Squally showers.
Visibility
Good.

Faeroes

Wind
Northwest, backing west, 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally high at first in south.
Weather
Squally showers.
Visibility
Good.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first, backing southwesterly 4 or 5.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally high at first in south.
Weather
Wintry showers, squally in south.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

East Northern Section

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 131200UTC, low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by 141200UTC. Northerly or northeasterly winds will reach storm force 10 from 140700UTC in Denmark Strait within 70 miles of the ice edge. Low 48 north 57 west 990 expected 56 north 39 west 962 by same time. Westerly winds will reach storm force 10 or violent storm force 11 in the southern semi-circle between 30 and 300 miles from the centre throughout.

In north

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 6 to gale 8, becoming variable 2 to 4 for a time then becoming cyclonic 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough.
Weather
Squally wintry showers, rain and drizzle later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

In south

Wind
Westerly, backing southerly, 6 to gale 8, then veering southwesterly 7 to severe gale 9 later, occasionally storm 10 later in far west.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming high or very high later in far west.
Weather
Occasional rain or squally wintry showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

West Northern Section

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 131200UTC, low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by 141200UTC. Northerly or northeasterly winds will reach storm force 10 from 140700UTC in Denmark Strait within 70 miles of the ice edge. Low 48 north 57 west 990 expected 56 north 39 west 962 by same time. Westerly winds will reach storm force 10 or violent storm force 11 in the southern semi-circle between 30 and 300 miles from the centre throughout.

In north

Wind
Cyclonic 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first in west, decreasing 3 or 4 for a time then, increasing 6 to gale 8 later, occasionally severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough.
Weather
Squally snow showers then rain or snow.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

In south

Wind
Cyclonic 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first in west, increasing gale 8 to storm 10 later, occasionally violent storm 11 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming high or very high later, occasionally phenomenal later in east.
Weather
Rain or squally snow showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, becoming poor or very poor.

East Central Section

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 131200UTC, low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by 141200UTC. Northerly or northeasterly winds will reach storm force 10 from 140700UTC in Denmark Strait within 70 miles of the ice edge. Low 48 north 57 west 990 expected 56 north 39 west 962 by same time. Westerly winds will reach storm force 10 or violent storm force 11 in the southern semi-circle between 30 and 300 miles from the centre throughout.

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 5 to 7, increasing gale 8 to storm 10 later in far northwest.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming high or very high later in far northwest.
Weather
Showers at first in northeast, otherwise occasional rain or drizzle.
Visibility
Moderate or poor, occasionally good at first in northeast.

West Central Section

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 131200UTC, low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by 141200UTC. Northerly or northeasterly winds will reach storm force 10 from 140700UTC in Denmark Strait within 70 miles of the ice edge. Low 48 north 57 west 990 expected 56 north 39 west 962 by same time. Westerly winds will reach storm force 10 or violent storm force 11 in the southern semi-circle between 30 and 300 miles from the centre throughout.

In south

Wind
Southwesterly 5 to 7, veering westerly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally high later.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle, mainly fair later.
Visibility
Moderate or poor, occasionally good.

In north

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 5 to 7, increasing gale 8 to storm 10, occasionally violent storm 11 later.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, becoming high or very high later.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches at first in west, squally wintry showers later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor, but very poor at first in west.

Denmark Strait

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 131200UTC, low 66 north 11 west 964 expected 70 north 07 west 982 by 141200UTC. Northerly or northeasterly winds will reach storm force 10 from 140700UTC in Denmark Strait within 70 miles of the ice edge. Low 48 north 57 west 990 expected 56 north 39 west 962 by same time. Westerly winds will reach storm force 10 or violent storm force 11 in the southern semi-circle between 30 and 300 miles from the centre throughout.

In area east of 25 west

Wind
Northerly, veering northeasterly, 7 to severe gale 9 occasionally storm 10 later near ice edge.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally moderate at first.
Weather
Snow at times.
Visibility
Moderate or poor, occasionally very poor. Occasional light or moderate icing, mainly in north, with temperatures ms02 to ms04.

In area west of 25 west

Wind
Variable, becoming northeasterly, 2 to 4, increasing 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10 later near ice edge.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough later.
Weather
Snow showers then occasional snow.
Visibility
Good becoming moderate or poor, occasionally very poor.

North Iceland

In north

Wind
Northeasterly 7 to severe gale 9, decreasing 6 in east.
Sea state
Very rough or high, occasionally rough at first.
Weather
Occasional rain and snow, then squally snow showers.
Visibility
Poor or very poor, becoming moderate or good, occasionally poor. Light or moderate icing developing near ice edge with temperatures ms02 to ms04.

In south

Wind
Cyclonic 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in far west.
Sea state
Rough occasionally very rough.
Weather
Occasional rain and snow.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Norwegian Basin

In east

Wind
Southerly 6 to gale 8, veering southwesterly 5 to 7.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally high at first.
Weather
Squally showers.
Visibility
Good.

In west

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly, veering westerly for a time, 4 to 6, occasionally 3 later.
Sea state
Rough, occasionally very rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for following 24 hours

Storms or violent storms expected in East Northern Section, West Northern Section, East Central Section, West Central Section and Denmark Strait. Gales or severe gales expected in remaining areas except Sole.

Unscheduled storm warnings are broadcast via Safetynet and in bulletin WONT54 EGRR available via some internet and ftpmail outlets

The high seas forecast information

High seas forecasts are issued twice daily at 0930 and 2130 GMT and cover the next 24 hours and outlooks for the following 24 hours.

The part of the North Atlantic known as Metarea I is divided into twelve sea areas, six of which are also in the Shipping forecast.

The high seas forecast contains a general synopsis and sea-area forecasts containing forecast wind direction and force, weather and visibility for the next 24 hours with an outlook for the following 24 hours.

Marine forecasts disclaimer

In the UK, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) is responsible for the provision of Maritime Safety Information (MSI) to ships at sea, which includes the broadcast of warnings and forecasts. The Met Office initiates warnings and prepares routine forecasts for dissemination on behalf of the MCA.

Caution: The internet is not part of the Maritime Safety Information system and should never be relied upon as the only means to obtain the latest forecast and warning information. Access to the service may be interrupted or delayed from time to time, updates may also be delayed.

Please refer to GMDSS services, INMARSAT SafetyNET or international NAVTEX for the latest information. When using these web pages, always check that the page on your screen is not from your cache. Use the Refresh or Reload button if in any doubt.