High seas forecast and storm warnings
The general synopsis for UK
At 060000UTC, low 60 north 23 west 1012 expected 59 north 14 west 1001 by 070000UTC. New low expected 47 north 26 west 1007 by same time. High 69 north 37 west 1041 expected 63 north 39 west 1031 by that time
Issued at: .
For the period to .
High seas forecast and storm warnings map
Sole
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 2 to 4 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Shannon
- Wind
- Northwest backing west, then southwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Rockall
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5 becoming southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough later.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- In southeast, cyclonic 3 to 5 becoming southwesterly 4 to 6. in northwest, easterly 3 to 5 backing northeasterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 later.
- Sea state
- In southeast, moderate, occasionally rough later. in northwest, moderate becoming rough, then very rough later.
- Weather
- In southeast, rain or showers. in northwest, rain or wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming east or northeast 4 to 6, then cyclonic 6 to gale 8 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Wintry showers, then rain in south.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Northeasterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first in west and later in south.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Sleet or snow showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor.
East Northern Section
In area to the north of 59 north
- Wind
- Cyclonic mainly northeasterly 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 at first in south, backing northerly 4 to 6 later in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in north, rough or very rough in south.
- Weather
- Rain or sleet until later in south, otherwise wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
In area to the south of 59 north
- Wind
- Cyclonic 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 in north, and perhaps severe gale 9 later in far northeast, but becoming northerly or northeasterly 4 or 5 later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Rain then showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
West Northern Section
In far northwest
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
In the rest of the area
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 at first in far south, otherwise easterly or northeasterly 5 to 7, decreasing 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain at first in south, otherwise showers, falling as sleet or snow in north.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in south but becoming very poor at times in north.
East Central Section
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming cyclonic 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later in west and north.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in west.
West Central Section
In northeast
- Wind
- Cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 3 at first, then becoming northeasterly later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain, then showers later, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
In northwest
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming northeasterly 3 to 5 later in east.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
In southeast
- Wind
- Cyclonic 4 to 6 becoming northerly or northwesterly 5 or 6, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, becoming rough later.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches at first in north.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, becoming poor at times, but occasionally very poor at first in north.
In southwest
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly, veering northerly later, 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in south and 3 in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain at times later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
Denmark Strait
In area within 100 miles of the greenland coast
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
In the rest of the area
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first and 3 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Snow showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor.
North Iceland
In far northwest
- Wind
- Northerly 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
In the rest of the area
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 5 or 6 decreasing 4 or 5, then occasionally 3 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Sleet or snow showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor. Light icing at first in far northeast, with temperatures ms02 or ms03.
Norwegian Basin
- Wind
- Cyclonic 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less later in north but becoming easterly or southeasterly 4 to 6 later in southwest.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first in west.
- Weather
- Wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours
Severe gales expected in Bailey, Faeroes, Southeast Iceland, East Northern Section and the far southeast of sea area north Iceland. Gales expected in Norwegian Basin. Risk of gales in northwest Rockall, East Central Section and West Central Section.
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.