Coast and sea
The general synopsis for UK
At 201200UTC, low 52 north 34 west 978 expected 51 north 11 west 971 by 211200UTC. Low 52 north 11 west 984 expected 55 north 17 west 976 by same time. Low 59 north 38 west 992 losing its identity
Issued at: .
For the period to .
High seas forecast and storm warnings map
Sole
- Wind
- Cyclonic 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough becoming very rough or high.
- Weather
- Rain or thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Shannon
- Wind
- Cyclonic 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6 for a time, perhaps severe gale 9 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain or thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Rockall
- Wind
- Cyclonic 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain or thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- Cyclonic 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain or thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
East Northern Section
In north of area
- Wind
- Easterly 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 later.
- Sea state
- Rough, occasionally moderate in northwest and very rough in southeast.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers, wintry at first in west, then thundery later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
In south of area
- Wind
- Northeasterly becoming cyclonic, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, occasionally high later in southeast.
- Weather
- Rain or thundery showers, wintry at first in west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
West Northern Section
In north of area
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 to severe gale 9 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming rough or very rough later.
- Weather
- Rain or sleet and wintry showers, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
In south of area
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly backing westerly, 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic later in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, sleet and snow, and wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
East Central Section
- High seas storm warning
-
Issued:
At 201200UTC, low 52 north 34 west 978 expected 51 north 11 west 971 by 211200UTC. Winds are expected to reach storm force 10 in the southwestern quadrant within 200 and 400 miles of the centre until 210200UTC, then within 250 and 500 miles of the centre from 210200UTC until 211100UTC. Winds are also expected to reach storm force 10 in the far west of Denmark Strait, within 50 miles of the Greenland coast, from 211900UTC.
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming northwesterly 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10 in south until later, becoming westerly 4 to 6 later in west.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough becoming very rough or high, occasionally very high later in south.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, thundery in east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
West Central Section
- High seas storm warning
-
Issued:
At 201200UTC, low 52 north 34 west 978 expected 51 north 11 west 971 by 211200UTC. Winds are expected to reach storm force 10 in the southwestern quadrant within 200 and 400 miles of the centre until 210200UTC, then within 250 and 500 miles of the centre from 210200UTC until 211100UTC. Winds are also expected to reach storm force 10 in the far west of Denmark Strait, within 50 miles of the Greenland coast, from 211900UTC.
In area south of 52 north
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming northwesterly gale 8 to storm 10, backing westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, then increasing 7 to severe gale 9 later in west.
- Sea state
- High or very high becoming rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, wintry later in west.
- Visibility
- Moderate occasionally poor.
In rest of area
- Wind
- Cyclonic 6 to 8, becoming westerly or northwesterly, backing westerly or southwesterly later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain, sleet and snow, wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Denmark Strait
- High seas storm warning
-
Issued:
At 201200UTC, low 52 north 34 west 978 expected 51 north 11 west 971 by 211200UTC. Winds are expected to reach storm force 10 in the southwestern quadrant within 200 and 400 miles of the centre until 210200UTC, then within 250 and 500 miles of the centre from 210200UTC until 211100UTC. Winds are also expected to reach storm force 10 in the far west of Denmark Strait, within 50 miles of the Greenland coast, from 211900UTC.
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 3 or 4, increasing 5 to 7, then 7 to severe gale 9 later in west, occasionally storm 10 later in far west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but slight at first just to the north of iceland, becoming very rough later in far west.
- Weather
- Sleet and snow at times, fog patches, freezing rain later in northwest.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor. Light icing at times near the ice edge until later, with temperatures ms02 to ms03.
North Iceland
In north of area
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, but occasional sleet or snow in far northwest, extensive fog becoming fog banks.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor.
In south of area
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 later in far south.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle and fog banks.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor.
Norwegian Basin
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 or gale 8 later in far southwest and also in far east.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming very rough later in far southwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain in west, mainly fair in east.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in west.
Outlook for following 24 hours
Violent storms are expected in Denmark Strait. Storms are expected in West Northern Section, East Central Section and West Central Section. Severe gales are expected in Sole, Shannon, Faeroes and East Northern Section. Gales are expected in all other areas.
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.