Coast and sea

Inshore waters and strong winds

General situation

Strong winds and rain in the northwest will eventually clear northwest of Scotland on Monday, as a ridge of high pressure in the south builds northwards. High pressure will then dominate across all parts on Tuesday, albeit with a freshening easterly breeze later in the English Channel.

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
South or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less for a time.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in north, smooth or slight in south.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches in northwest.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in northwest.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less, then south 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in north, smooth or slight in south.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate at first in north.
Weather
Occasional rain in north.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate in north.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable becoming southeast for a time, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southwest becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable becoming southeast for a time, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable, becoming easterly for a time, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming easterly or northeasterly 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 in east.
Sea state
Slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming east 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or northeast 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less at first in east, otherwise easterly or southeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less at first in Bristol Channel, otherwise easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southeast becoming variable, then east later, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

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

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southwest 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
Weather
Fog patches in north.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in north.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Isle of Man (12)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southwest 3 or 4, backing south or southeast 3 or less, becoming variable later.
Sea state
Slight becoming smooth or slight.
Weather
Fog patches at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southwest 3 or 4 backing east or southeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor in east.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or southeast 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate in far north.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor in North Channel.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Variable 3 or less.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first in north, backing southeasterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain or drizzle at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeast 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

The Minch (16)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less at first in north, otherwise southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, decreasing 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight in north.
Weather
Rain or drizzle and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate, occasionally very poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South or southwest, becoming variable for a time, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less at first in north, otherwise southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, decreasing 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or drizzle and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate, occasionally very poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South or southwest, becoming variable for a time, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Shetland Isles (18)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
West, backing south or southwest later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain, fog patches at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

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

Valid Monday 28 Apr 2025 at 0600 UTC until Monday 28 Apr 2025 at 1800 UTC

General situation

A weak front over Shetland Waters will move away southeast early on Monday before a ridge builds north over the area.

Forecast

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 in north
Sea state
Moderate, becoming slight just east of Shetland
Weather
Occasional rain and fog patches at first, becoming fair
Visibility
Moderate, occasionally very poor, becoming good

Outlook for 12 Hours from 1800 UTC on Monday 28 Apr until 0600 UTC on Tuesday 29 Apr

Wind
Westerly backing southwesterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later in southwest
Sea state
Moderate, but mainly slight east of Shetland
Weather
Fair then occasional rain and fog patches
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later

Channel Islands (19)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East to northeast 2 to 4, increasing 3 to 5 for a time in the late afternoon and evening.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, with a low swell.
Weather
Risk of mist patches near the French coast early this morning.
Visibility
Good locally moderate, perhaps briefly poor near the French coast at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East to northeast 2 to 4, increasing 3 to 5 for a time in the late afternoon and evening.
Sea state
Smooth to slight, with a low and diminishing swell.
Weather
Fine.
Visibility
Good, perhaps locally moderate.

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.

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.