Coast and sea

Inshore waters and strong winds

General situation

High pressure centred to the north of the United Kingdom will maintain an easterly flow, with strong winds across many southern and western waters and gales at first in the far southwest. Fair conditions will dominate, although there will be some showery rain at first in far southwest.

Issued at:

For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore for the period to

Inshore waters forecast and strong winds map

Cape Wrath to Rattray Head including Orkney (1)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast, veering southeast later, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly becoming variable, 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, but southerly 4 at first in north.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East, occasionally variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate at first in south, and smooth later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally smooth in north.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first and 2 later.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate at first.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northeast 2 or 3, becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeasterly 4 or 5, increasing 6 at first in south.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate until later in south.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 2 in north.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate in south.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 until later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 5 or 6, occasionally 4 near shore.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough for a time at first.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or northeast 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first and decreasing 3 at times near shore.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly 6 or 7, occasionally gale 8 at first from prawle point westwards, decreasing 5 or 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate in lyme bay.
Weather
Showers at first, mainly in west.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first in west.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly 5 or 6, decreasing 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in east, moderate or rough in west.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly 4 to 6, but 7 at first in far south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough at first in southwest.
Weather
Showers at first near Cornwall.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast, 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first in south and decreasing 3 at times in north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first and 3 later.
Sea state
Mainly slight or moderate, but smooth or slight in Cardigan Bay and caernarfon bay.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Mainly easterly, 3 or 4, occasionally 5 in south and 2 in north.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in far south.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in west, decreasing 3 at times near the english coast.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less in Solway Firth.
Sea state
Slight or moderate at first in west, otherwise smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Isle of Man (12)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 3 to 5, occasionally 6, veering east or southeast.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later in south.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate at first.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first and 3 at times later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly veering easterly or southeasterly, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first and decreasing 3 at times later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in North Channel, but elsewhere smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeasterly 3 to 5 at first in North Channel, but variable 2 to 4 elsewhere.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in North Channel, otherwise smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly at first in north, otherwise easterly or southeasterly, 4 or 5, occasionally 3 in north and 6 in south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeasterly 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times near shore.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

The Minch (16)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly veering southeasterly later, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in south, decreasing 2 later in north.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or southeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in south, but variable 2 to 4 in north.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly veering southeasterly later, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in south, decreasing 2 later in north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate at first in south, otherwise smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or southeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in south, but variable 2 to 4 in north.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Shetland Isles (18)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Mainly westerly or northwesterly, 2 to 4, becoming variable at times in southwest.
Sea state
Slight, becoming moderate in northeast.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)

Strong wind warning

Valid Wednesday 22 Apr 2026 at 1200 UTC until Thursday 23 Apr 2026 at 0000 UTC

General situation

Ridge of high pressure covers Shetland Waters

Forecast

Wind
North or northwest becoming mainly west 2 to 4
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming moderate later in northeast
Weather
Fair
Visibility
Good

Outlook for 12 Hours from 0000 UTC on Thursday 23 Apr until 1200 UTC on Thursday 23 Apr

Wind
Mainly west or northwest 2 to 4
Sea state
Smooth or slight in southwest, slight or moderate in northeast
Weather
Fair
Visibility
Good

Channel Islands (19)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East to northeast 5 to 6 with gusts to 35kt, occasionally 4 in the south and east becoming generally 4 to 5 overnight, occasionally 6 mid channel.
Sea state
Slight to moderate in the southeast, rather rough in the northwest, occasionally rough mid-channel until evening.
Weather
Risk of isolated showers, mainly in the west of the area.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East to northeast 4 to 5, occasionally 6 in the north of the area and 3 in the far south.
Sea state
Slight to moderate, occasionally rather rough in the west and mid-channel.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

The inshore waters forecast information

Forecasts for UK inshore waters are issued four times a day and cover a period of 24 hours from 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC.

The coastal waters around the British Isles are divided into 19 areas which extend up to 12 nautical miles offshore.

The forecast contains details of wind direction and force, sea state, weather and visibility.

Strong coastal winds (force 6 or more) are displayed for the first 24 hours of the inshore waters forecast.

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.

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