Coast and Sea

High seas forecast and storm warnings


The general synopsis for UK

At 051200UTC, high 51 north 29 west 1024 expected 48 north 07 west 1028 by 061200UTC. New low 63 north 17 east 997 expected by same time. Low 57 north 03 west moving northeastwards and losing its identity by that time. at 051200UTC, low 51 north 56 west 1000 expected 48 north 50 west 1007 by 061200UTC. New low expected 64 north 27 west 1002 by same time.

Issued at: .

For the period to .

High seas forecast and storm warnings map


Sole

Wind
Northwest becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Shannon

Wind
Cyclonic mainly northwest veering southwest later, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 at times later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Rockall

Wind
Cyclonic mainly northwest veering southwest later, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 at times later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough at first, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first.

Bailey

Wind
North 3 to 5, backing southwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Occasionally rough later in southwest, otherwise moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Faeroes

Wind
North backing southwest later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Cyclonic becoming southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

East Northern Section

In north

Wind
Cyclonic mainly southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 2 in northwest.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough in south and later in far northwest.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

In south

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in south.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

West Northern Section

In northern half of the area

Wind
Cyclonic 2 to 4, increasing 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later in north and 4 in south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather
Rain or drizzle at times, fog patches at first in west.
Visibility
Moderate or good, poor at times, but occasionally very poor at first in west.

In southern half of the area

Wind
Southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first in southeast, veering westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5 in north.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or drizzle, fog patches developing in west.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor in east and very poor in west.

East Central Section

In northern half of the area

Wind
Northwesterly backing westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 6 at times in north and occasional 2 in south.
Sea state
Moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain at times in far north, fair elsewhere.
Visibility
Good, becoming moderate or poor at times in north.

In southern half of the area

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in south, but variable 3 or less at times in north.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Fair in north, rain at times in south.
Visibility
Good, but moderate or poor at times in south.

West Central Section

In northern half of the area

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Drizzle or rain in far north, mainly fair elsewhere.
Visibility
Moderate or good, becoming poor at times in north.

In southern half of the area

Wind
Variable mainly easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4, becoming south 4 or 5 later in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Denmark Strait

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic mainly northeasterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 later in south, but 4 at times later in north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or drizzle at times, fog patches at first except in far north, mainly fair later in north and west.
Visibility
Moderate to poor, occasionally very poor at first, becoming mainly good later in north and west.

North Iceland

In northwestern half of the area

Wind
Cyclonic becoming northerly or northeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in far northwest.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Drizzle or rain at times, fog patches at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor, but very poor at first in north.

In southeastern half of the area

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Drizzle at times.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Norwegian Basin

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly backing northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in south until later, decreasing 2 later in far west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers until later in far southeast, fair elsewhere.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor in far southeast.

Outlook for the following 24 hours

Gales expected in the far northwest of East Northern Section, the northeast of West Northern Section and the south of Denmark Strait.

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.

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