High seas forecast and storm warnings
The general synopsis for UK
At 051200UTC, low 50 north 17 west 990 expected 53 north 05 west 999 by 061200UTC. Low 61 north 39 west 983 expected 58 north 32 west with little change by same time. Low 64 north 30 west 984 losing its identity
Issued at: .
For the period to .
High seas forecast and storm warnings map
Sole
- Storm warning
-
Issued:
At 051200UTC, low 50 north 17 west 990 expected 53 north 05 west 999 by 061200UTC. Winds are expected to reach storm force 10 between 50 and 200 miles from the centre in the southern and southwestern quadrants until 060300UTC.
- Wind
- Cyclonic gale 8 to storm 10, becoming west 7 to severe gale 9, backing southwest 6 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough occasionally high.
- Weather
- Rain at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or poor.
Shannon
- Storm warning
-
Issued:
At 051200UTC, low 50 north 17 west 990 expected 53 north 05 west 999 by 061200UTC. Winds are expected to reach storm force 10 between 50 and 200 miles from the centre in the southern and southwestern quadrants until 060300UTC.
- Wind
- Cyclonic gale 8 to storm 10, becoming northwest 6 to gale 8, backing southwest 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, occasionally high in south.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Rockall
- Wind
- South, becoming cyclonic, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- South, becoming cyclonic, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Southwesterly backing southeasterly, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Southwesterly backing southeasterly, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
East Northern Section
In north
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming southerly or southeasterly, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
- Weather
- Showers, rain for a time in east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
In south
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 5 to 7 later in west.
- Sea state
- Rough, becoming moderate at times.
- Weather
- Showers, occasional rain later in southeast and far west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
West Northern Section
In northeast
- Wind
- Cyclonic 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
- Weather
- Rain at first in far north, otherwise showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in far north.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic 5 to 7, but mainly 3 to 5 in far northeast, increasing gale 8 at times in south and west.
- Sea state
- Rough, occasionally moderate in north and very rough in south.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or squally showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
In northwest
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5 in southeast, otherwise northerly or northeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 until later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain at times, occasional sleet near greenland coast.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
East Central Section
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly, becoming cyclonic mainly westerly or southwesterly, 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first in east and for a time in southwest, decreasing 3 to 5 for a time in far north.
- Sea state
- Rough occasionally very rough.
- Weather
- Mainly fair in southeast, otherwise occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in north and west.
West Central Section
In north
- Wind
- Cyclonic at first in south, otherwise westerly or northwesterly, 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 later in north.
- Sea state
- Rough occasionally very rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
In south
- Wind
- Southwesterly 6 to gale 8, veering westerly or northwesterly 5 to 7, decreasing 4 at times later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Mainly fair until later in southeast, otherwise rain at times, showers later in north and west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in north and west.
Denmark Strait
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first in northeast, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 in southeast and also later elsewhere except in far west.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough until later.
- Weather
- Rain, but sleet, snow and freezing rain at times except in southeast, becoming mainly fair later in southeast, fog patches later in northeast.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in southeast and very poor elsewhere.
North Iceland
- Wind
- Northerly 5 to 7 until later in far northwest, otherwise cyclonic, becoming mainly southerly or southeasterly later, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in west and also later elsewhere.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in northwest and rough at first in south.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at times, with occasional freezing rain in far northwest, extensive fog in north, fog banks in south.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor.
Norwegian Basin
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first in northeast, backing southerly or southeasterly, then northeasterly later in northeast, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours
Gales expected in Rockall, Bailey, Faeroes, Southeast Iceland and East Central Section.
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.