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.