Coast and sea

High seas forecast and storm warnings

The general synopsis for UK

At 070000UTC, low 65 north 30 west 951 expected 68 north 30 west 979 by 080000UTC. New low expected 63 north 37 west 979 by same time

Issued at: .

For the period to .

High seas forecast and storm warnings map

Sole

Wind
Variable 3 in far east, otherwise southerly 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 later in far west.
Sea state
Rough or very rough.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Shannon

Wind
Cyclonic 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first, then decreasing 4 at times, becoming variable 2 to 4 later in west.
Sea state
Very rough or high, becoming mainly very rough.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Rockall

Wind
Cyclonic 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first, then decreasing 4 at times, becoming variable 2 to 4 later in east.
Sea state
Very rough or high, becoming mainly very rough.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Bailey

Wind
Southwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or poor.

Faeroes

Wind
South or southwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6, becoming variable 4 later.
Sea state
Very rough or high, becoming rough or very rough later.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Southwesterly 7 to severe gale 9, decreasing 5 to 7, occasionally 4 later.
Sea state
High, occasionally very high at first in west, becoming very rough later.
Weather
Squally wintry showers.
Visibility
Poor.

East Northern Section

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 070000UTC, low 65 north 30 west 951 expected 68 north 30 west 979 by 080000UTC. Northeasterly winds are expected to reach storm force 10 within 100 miles of the Greenland coast between 25 and 31 west in Denmark Strait, mainly over the ice, until 072200UTC. Southwesterly winds are also expected to reach storm force 10 in area enclosed east of 22 west and north of 62 north to the south of Iceland in East Northern Section until 071000UTC. Northeasterly winds are expected to reach storm force 10 in area enclosed north of 71 north and west of 15 west in area north Iceland, mainly over the ice, until 072000UTC.

In north

Wind
Southwesterly gale 8 to storm 10, decreasing 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in west and later in far east, then backing mainly southerly later.
Sea state
High or very high becoming very rough or high.
Weather
Squally wintry showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Moderate or poor, occasionally very poor in west.

In south

Wind
Southwesterly 6 to gale 8, backing southerly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in east, then veering westerly or southwesterly later except in far northeast.
Sea state
High becoming very rough.
Weather
Wintry showers, squally at times and perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor in east and very poor in west.

West Northern Section

In far northwest

Wind
Cyclonic 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Snow showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor. Occasional light icing.

In rest of area

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally 6 in far south, becoming cyclonic later in north and decreasing 5 to 7 later in south.
Sea state
Very rough or high.
Weather
Squally snow showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor. Occasional light icing in far west, mainly at first.

East Central Section

Wind
Cyclonic mainly westerly or southwesterly, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in south.
Sea state
Very rough, occasionally high at first in far north, becoming rough or very rough.
Weather
Occasional rain in southeast, otherwise wintry showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

West Central Section

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly, veering northwesterly for a time, 5 to 7, occasionally 4 in northeast and gale 8 in south and west.
Sea state
Very rough.
Weather
Snow showers, squally and perhaps thundery at times.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor. Occasional light icing later in far northwest.

Denmark Strait

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 070000UTC, low 65 north 30 west 951 expected 68 north 30 west 979 by 080000UTC. Northeasterly winds are expected to reach storm force 10 within 100 miles of the Greenland coast between 25 and 31 west in Denmark Strait, mainly over the ice, until 072200UTC. Southwesterly winds are also expected to reach storm force 10 in area enclosed east of 22 west and north of 62 north to the south of Iceland in East Northern Section until 071000UTC. Northeasterly winds are expected to reach storm force 10 in area enclosed north of 71 north and west of 15 west in area north Iceland, mainly over the ice, until 072000UTC.

Wind
Cyclonic 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10 until later within 100 miles of the greenland coast mainly over the ice, decreasing 4 to 6 in far west and later elsewhere, occasionally 7 later in southeast.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally moderate in far west and high in southeast.
Weather
Wintry showers, squally until later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor. Light or moderate icing until later within 100 miles of the greenland coast, with temperatures ms03 to ms05.

North Iceland

High seas storm warning
Issued:

At 070000UTC, low 65 north 30 west 951 expected 68 north 30 west 979 by 080000UTC. Northeasterly winds are expected to reach storm force 10 within 100 miles of the Greenland coast between 25 and 31 west in Denmark Strait, mainly over the ice, until 072200UTC. Southwesterly winds are also expected to reach storm force 10 in area enclosed east of 22 west and north of 62 north to the south of Iceland in East Northern Section until 071000UTC. Northeasterly winds are expected to reach storm force 10 in area enclosed north of 71 north and west of 15 west in area north Iceland, mainly over the ice, until 072000UTC.

In far northwest

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly gale 8 to storm 10 becoming cyclonic 7 to severe gale 9, decreasing 4 to 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in east.
Weather
Occasional snow.
Visibility
Moderate, occasionally very poor. Light or moderate icing at times, mainly over the ice, with temperatures ms03 to ms05.

In rest of area

Wind
Cyclonic 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 in north, becoming southerly or southwesterly 5 to 7, increasing gale 8 at times until later in south and east, then decreasing 4 at times later in south and west.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally high in south and east.
Weather
Rain, sleet and snow at first in north, otherwise wintry showers, squally at times.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor, but very poor at first in north. Light or moderate icing at first near the ice edge around 69 north, and later in far north, with temperatures ms03 to ms05.

Norwegian Basin

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 6 to gale 8, becoming cyclonic 4 to 6 later in west.
Sea state
Rough or very rough, occasionally high at first in west.
Weather
Rain at times, but mainly fair in east.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor in west.

Outlook for following 24 hours

Severe gales expected in East Northern Section, West Northern Section and West Central Section with gales in East Central Section, Denmark Strait and Norwegian Basin. Risk of gales in Sole, Bailey and Southeast Iceland.

Unscheduled storm warnings are broadcast via Safetynet and in bulletin WONT54 EGRR available via some internet and ftpmail outlets

The 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.