High seas forecast and storm warnings
The general synopsis for UK
At 211200UTC, high 54 north 21 west 1039 expected 52 north 21 west 1036 by 221200UTC
Issued at: .
For the period to .
High seas forecast and storm warnings map
Sole
- Wind
- North or northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Shannon
- Wind
- North or northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Rockall
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly, backing westerly later in north, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Drizzle.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- Northwesterly backing westerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Northwesterly backing westerly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming moderate occasionally slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Westerly 4 to 6, backing southwesterly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
East Northern Section
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 to 6, but westerly or northwesterly 3 or 4 at first in southeast.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in southeast, moderate or rough in northwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, drizzle and fog patches west, showers elsewhere.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good occasionally very poor in west, good occasionally moderate elsewhere.
West Northern Section
In far northwest of area
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but slight or moderate in far northwest.
- Weather
- Rain, drizzle and fog banks at first, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor, becoming moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
In rest of area
- Wind
- Southerly veering southwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 later in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog banks becoming fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor, becoming moderate or good occasionally very poor later.
East Central Section
In northwestern half of area
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain and drizzle later in northwest.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate, becoming moderate occasionally poor later in northwest.
In southeastern half of area
- Wind
- Northeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
West Central Section
In southeastern half of area
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, but rain later in far west and northwest.
- Visibility
- Good, becoming moderate occasionally poor later in far west and northwest.
In northwestern half of area
- Wind
- Southerly 4 to 6, veering westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming moderate.
- Weather
- Rain, drizzle and fog banks, perhaps thundery at first in far south.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor.
Denmark Strait
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 for a time in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight near Iceland and greenland.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, drizzle and extensive fog becoming fog banks later.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor, occasionally good north of Iceland.
North Iceland
In far southeast of area
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southerly 4 or 5 later, then veering southwesterly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough later.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good occasionally very poor.
In rest of area
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6 in south, backing easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5 later in north.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle in south, fog patches becoming fog banks at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor, occasionally good.
Norwegian Basin
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 except in southeast, then southwesterly 4 or 5 later in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate, but moderate or rough at first in northwest.
- Weather
- Showers until later, occasional drizzle and fog patches later in far west.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate, but moderate or good occasionally very poor later in far west.
Outlook for the following 24 hours
Gales expected in West Northern Section. Risk of northwesterly piteraq gales developing in far west of Denmark Strait. Risk of gales in far south of north 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.