High seas forecast and storm warnings
The general synopsis for UK
At 070000UTC, high 49 north 08 west 1027 expected 53 north 08 east 1024 by 080000UTC. Low 64 north 27 west expected 61 north 23 west 996 by same time. Low 45 north 20 west 1014 expected 44 north 17 west 1013 by that time. at 070000UTC, low 45 north 49 west 1010 expected 43 north 47 west 1004 by 080000UTC.
Issued at: .
For the period to .
High seas forecast and storm warnings map
Sole
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first in west and slight at times in east.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Shannon
- Wind
- Southwesterly 3 to 5 at first in north, otherwise southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally slight at first in east.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor in west.
Rockall
- Wind
- Southwest 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- Southwest becoming cyclonic later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Cyclonic often southerly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Cyclonic often southerly 3 to 5, occasionally 2 in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor, but very poor at times.
East Northern Section
In north
- Wind
- Northeasterly 6 to gale 8 in far northwest, otherwise cyclonic 4 to 6, decreasing 2 to 4 later in northeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but rough or very rough in far northwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in north.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic mainly westerly or southwesterly veering northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first, decreasing 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in south.
West Northern Section
In north
- Wind
- Cyclonic mainly northerly or northeasterly 6 to gale 8 in northeast, occasionally 5 in south, but variable 2 to 4 in far northwest.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in far northwest, but rough or very rough elsewhere.
- Weather
- Occasional rain in east, mainly fair in west.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in east.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic mainly northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, becoming northeasterly 3 or 4 in east.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain until later in south, fog patches at first in southwest.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor until later, but very poor at first in southwest.
East Central Section
In north
- Wind
- Cyclonic mainly westerly or southwesterly, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain in far north, thundery showers for a time in far southeast.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in far north and occasionally poor for a time far southeast.
In south
- Wind
- Cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 3 in far east and far west, becoming variable 3 or less later in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally slight in west.
- Weather
- Rain or showers in east, thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor until later in east.
West Central Section
In north
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in far northeast.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers, thundery in east, fog patches developing.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor, but very poor at times later.
In southeast
- Wind
- Variable becoming mainly southerly or southwesterly later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
In southwest
- Wind
- Southeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in far southwest.
- Sea state
- Fog patches developing, rain or drizzle in north and showers later in south.
- Weather
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
- Visibility
Denmark Strait
- Wind
- Cyclonic, mainly northeasterly 3 to 5 near greenland, but elsewhere, 6 to gale 8, occasionally 5 in north.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, but mainly moderate in west and north.
- Weather
- Rain at times near Iceland, otherwise mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in southeast.
North Iceland
In north
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 4 to 6, but variable 2 to 4 in far northwest.
- Sea state
- Moderate, but slight in northwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor later.
In southeast
- Wind
- Cyclonic 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Mainly moderate, becoming moderate or rough in west.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle, fog patches until later.
- Visibility
- Moderate to poor, occasionally very poor until later, good at times later.
In southwest
- Wind
- Northeasterly 4 to 5, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Norwegian Basin
- Wind
- Cyclonic mainly southwesterly, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 for a time in southeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours
Gales expected in Southeast Iceland, the northwest of East Northern Section, the northeast of West Northern Section, the south of Denmark Strait and the east of Norwegian Basin. There is a risk of gales in the south of north Iceland and east of Norwegian Basin.
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.