Coast and sea
General situation
Low pressure will continue to move eastwards into the North Sea, bringing rain and strong to gale force winds to most waters by this evening. A cold and strong northwesterly flow with wintry showers will follow, extending to all areas by Wednesday. A ridge of high pressure will then move into the southwest on Thursday, bringing more settled conditions here for a time.
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)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly veering northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally 4 at first in south and gale 8 later in northeast.
- Sea state
- To the west and north of Orkney, very rough or high becoming rough or very rough for a time, elsewhere moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate for a time, but slight in Moray Firth.
- Weather
- Squally showers, turning wintry.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in east, veering southerly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- To the west and north of Orkney, very rough or high becoming rough or very rough, elsewhere moderate or rough, but slight in Moray Firth.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers until later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor until later.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 3 or 4, increasing 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 later in far northeast.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in Firth of Forth and rough later in northeast.
- Weather
- Rain then squally showers, wintry later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in northeast, backing southerly or southwesterly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in northeast.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers until later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor until later.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, veering northwest 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Slight becoming moderate, occasionally rough later in north.
- Weather
- Rain, squally showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 5 to 7, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming rough or very rough for a time.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor at first.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest veering west, then northwest later, 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Rain, squally showers later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Squally showers, perhaps wintry later.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwesterly veering westerly 6 to gale 8, then northwesterly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in east.
- Weather
- Squally rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor until later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in north and east.
- Weather
- Squally showers, perhaps wintry for a time.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 5 or 6, increasing 6 to gale 8, veering northwesterly 6 or 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, then squally rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 6 or 7, decreasing 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, squally at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 6 to gale 8, veering northwest 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Squally rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 5 to 7, decreasing 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, squally at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest veering northwest, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but very rough in west, becoming high for a time in west.
- Weather
- Squally rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 5 to 7, decreasing 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but very rough at first in far west, becoming slight or moderate in east.
- Weather
- Squally showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest veering northwest, 6 to gale 8, occasionally severe gale 9 at first in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough, occasionally high later in southwest.
- Weather
- Squally rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 5 to 7, decreasing 3 to 5, backing west later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but very rough at first in west, becoming slight in Bristol Channel.
- Weather
- Squally showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest veering northwest, 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but very rough at first in far south.
- Weather
- Squally showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 5 to 7, decreasing 3 to 5, backing southwest later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Squally showers at first, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest veering northwest 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain, then squally showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 or 5, backing southwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate, then smooth or slight later.
- Weather
- Squally showers at first, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Isle of Man (12)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West veering northwest 6 or 7, increasing occasionally gale 8.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers, frequent and heavy at first, wintry later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 6 or 7, decreasing 3 or 4, then backing southwest 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, falling slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West 4 to 6, veering northwest 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but rough or very rough in north.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, backing west 4 or 5, then south later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate in south.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.
Mull of Galloway to Mull of Kintyre including the Firth of Clyde and North Channel (14)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 for a time.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth at first to the north of the isle of arran, becoming rough in North Channel.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6, backing westerly 3 to 5, then southerly later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but rough at first in North Channel, becoming smooth or slight later.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers at first, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, increasing 6 to gale 8 for a time.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, occasionally high in west and moderate in sheltered east.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest backing south later, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, but moderate in east.
- Weather
- Showers, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 until later, mainly in south.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in central areas, rough or very rough near entrances.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 5 to 7, decreasing 3 or 4 in south, becoming variable 2 to 4 later, then southerly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in central areas, rough or very rough near entrances.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers at first, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 until later, mainly in south.
- Sea state
- Very rough or high becoming rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 5 to 7, decreasing 3 or 4 in south, becoming variable 2 to 4 later, then southerly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers at first, rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.
Shetland Isles (18)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West veering northwest 6 to gale 8.
- Sea state
- Very rough or high, but moderate or rough in sheltered east.
- Weather
- Squally wintry showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Strong wind warning
Valid Tuesday 24 Mar 2026 at 1800 UTC until Wednesday 25 Mar 2026 at 0600 UTC
General situation
Showery strong to gale force southwesterly flow will veer northwesterly later in the day.
Forecast
- Wind
- Southwest veering northwest 6 to gale 8
- Sea state
- Very rough or high. moderate or rough in lee shelter of shetland.
- Weather
- Showers, becoming wintry later
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor
Outlook for 12 Hours from 0600 UTC on Wednesday 25 Mar until 1800 UTC on Wednesday 25 Mar
- Wind
- Northwest 6 to gale 8
- Sea state
- Very rough or high. moderate or rough in lee shelter of shetland.
- Weather
- Wintry showers
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor
Channel Islands (19)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West to southwest 6 to 7, veering west to northwest 7 to gale 8 around midnight, decreasing 6 to 7 by midday.
- Sea state
- Rather rough to rough, increasing rough to very rough around midnight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain from at first, clearing to squally showers after midnight, locally heavy with a risk of hail later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest to north 6 to 7, decreasing 5 to 6 by midnight, further decreasing 4 to 5 around dawn, then decreasing 3 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Rough to very rough, decreasing slight to moderate with a low swell by midday.
- Weather
- Showers, locally heavy with a risk of hail, becoming isolated later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor.
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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