High seas forecast and storm warnings
The general synopsis for UK
At 041200UTC, low 44 north 37 west 994 expected 48 north 28 west 990 by 051200UTC. Low 63 north 08 west 989 losing its identity by same time. High 43 north 18 west 1024 expected 49 north 04 west 1027 by that time. at 041200UTC, new low expected 59 north 31 west 1003 by 051200UTC.
Issued at: .
For the period to .
High seas forecast and storm warnings map
Sole
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Shannon
- Wind
- West becoming cyclonic, then becoming south or southwest later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain for a time.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Rockall
- Wind
- West 5 or 6, backing southwest 4 or 5, then backing southeast 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- West or northwest, backing southwest later, 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Cyclonic, becoming westerly or northwesterly, backing southwesterly later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough until later in south.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Cyclonic, becoming westerly or northwesterly, backing southwesterly later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
East Northern Section
In north
- Wind
- Westerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first and slight later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers, rain and drizzle later in south.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later in south.
In south
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 to 6, decreasing 3 at times, becoming cyclonic 5 to 7 later, occasionally gale 8 later in east.
- Sea state
- Very rough at first in east, otherwise moderate or rough, becoming mainly moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
West Northern Section
In north
- Wind
- Cyclonic 4 to 6, becoming northeasterly 6 to gale 8 in northwest, decreasing 3 at times later in east.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in northwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5, becoming northwesterly 4 to 6 later in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first and later in north.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
East Central Section
In north
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 or 4, increasing 5 or 6, then increasing 6 to gale 8 later.
- Sea state
- Perhaps severe gale 9 later in south.
- Weather
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough at first in east, and later in southwest.
- Visibility
- Fair, then rain, thundery and squally at times. Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic, becoming southerly, then veering westerly or southwesterly later, 4 to 6, increasing 7 to severe gale 9 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough, occasionally high later.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at times, thundery and squally for a time.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
West Central Section
In north
- Wind
- Variable 3 or 4, becoming northwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers, rain for a time in southeast.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, becoming moderate or poor for a time in southeast.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic 7 to severe gale 9, decreasing 5 or 6 later, becoming variable 3 or less later in far southwest.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, occasionally moderate at first in north, and high later in south.
- Weather
- Rain for a time, occasionally thundery and squally, becoming mainly fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, becoming moderate or poor for a time.
Denmark Strait
- Wind
- Mainly variable 2 to 4 north of 70 north, but elsewhere cyclonic mainly northeasterly, 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 at first near greenland in south, decreasing 5 or 6, then becoming variable 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Rain at times mainly in south.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in south.
North Iceland
In north
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, showers in east.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in east.
In south
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly, becoming cyclonic in far southeast, 5 or 6, decreasing 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Showers in far north, otherwise rain at times, fog patches in south.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in south.
Norwegian Basin
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers, fog patches developing in west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in west.
Outlook for the following 24 hours
Severe gales expected in East Northern Section, East Central Section and Rockall. Gales expected in West Northern Section, West Central Section, Norwegian Basin, Shannon, Bailey and Southeast Iceland.
Unscheduled storm warnings are broadcast via Safetynet and in bulletin WONT54 EGRR available via some internet and ftpmail outlets
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.