Coast and Sea

High seas forecast and storm warnings


The general synopsis for UK

At 300000UTC, low 55 north 14 west 1011 expected 55 north 01 west 1019 by 010000UTC. Low 69 north 05 west 997 expected 75 north 07 east 1000 by same time. Low 62 north 39 west 996 expected 65 north 35 west 992 by that time. at 300000UTC, low 42 north 50 west 1006 expected 50 north 35 west 1011 by 010000UTC. New low expected 53 north 26 west 1009 by same time

Issued at: .

For the period to .

High seas forecast and storm warnings map


Sole

Wind
Cyclonic becoming northwesterly, 4 to 6, backing southwesterly 3 to 5 later in west.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Occasional drizzle or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Shannon

Wind
Cyclonic becoming northwest, then backing south or southwest later, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 at times.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Rockall

Wind
Cyclonic becoming northwest, then backing south or southwest later, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 at times.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Bailey

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then south 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Faeroes

Wind
South or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, fog patches developing.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Southwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

East Northern Section

In southeastern quadrant

Wind
Northwesterly 3 to 5, backing southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 5 to 7 later in south.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Mainly fair, rain later.
Visibility
Good, becoming moderate or poor later.

In rest of area

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, increasing 7 at times in northwest, veering westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5 later in far south.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Mainly fair until later in south, otherwise occasional rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

West Northern Section

In north

Wind
Cyclonic 6 to gale 8, occasionally 5 in west and later in north, moderate or rough, occasionally very rough.
Sea state
Occasional rain or showers, becoming mainly fair later in south.
Weather
Good, occasionally poor in north and until later in south.
Visibility

In south

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in northwest, becoming cyclonic 4 to 6 in south.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Occasional rain, becoming mainly fair in northwest.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor, becoming mainly good in northwest.

East Central Section

Wind
Northwesterly 3 to 5 at first in east, otherwise cyclonic, becoming mainly southwesterly later, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in north and west, perhaps gale 8 later in north.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Mainly fair at first in north and east, otherwise rain or drizzle at times with fog patches developing.
Visibility
Mainly good at first in north and east, otherwise moderate to very poor.

West Central Section

In southeastern half of area

Wind
Cyclonic 4 to 6, becoming southwesterly 5 to 7, then variable 2 to 4 later in west.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or drizzle and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor.

In northwestern half of area

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in north.
Sea state
Moderate occasionally rough.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Denmark Strait

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 at first in far north, otherwise cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 3 in east, becoming northeasterly 7 to severe gale 9 near greenland coast in far southwest.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in northeast, moderate or rough in southwest.
Weather
Mainly fair at first in southeast, otherwise occasional rain or showers, with sleet or freezing rain at times near greenland coast with fog patches.
Visibility
Good at first in southeast, otherwise moderate or good, occasionally very poor near greenland coast and poor elsewhere.

North Iceland

In north

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5, occasionally 2 in north, increasing 6 at times in far south.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in west.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle, with freezing rain until later in far northwest, fog banks, becoming fog patches later.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor, occasionally good later.

In south

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, decreasing 3 at times mainly in south and west.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough in east and slight in west.
Weather
Occasional rain and drizzle at first in north, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Norwegian Basin

Wind
Southwesterly 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 in south and also later in north.
Sea state
Moderate or rough becoming moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours

Risk of severe gales in Faeroes with gales expected in Rockall, West Northern Section and East Central Section. Risk of gales in Bailey.

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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