Coast and sea
General situation
Most of the United Kingdom will lie in a slack airflow during the next 24 hours, with any strong winds restricted to the far north where a developing area of low pressure will move eastwards across northern Scotland.
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
- Variable 3 or less becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, then north or northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in Moray Firth, elsewhere mainly slight or moderate, but becoming rough later to the north and west of Orkney.
- Weather
- Occasional rain then showers, wintry at times in far north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor in north and moderate in south.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest becoming variable, 3 or less, occasionally 4 except in Moray Firth.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in Moray Firth and moderate or rough at first to the north and west of Orkney, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later in north.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming northwest 3 to 5, then veering north or northeast later and increasing 6 for a time.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northeast 3 to 5 becoming variable 3 or less, then south or southeast 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight in Firth of Forth.
- Weather
- Showers, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, occasionally 4 at first, becoming north or northeast 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northeast 4 or 5, veering east or southeast 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, occasionally 4 at first, becoming north 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in south, becoming moderate later in north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North 4 to 6 veering northeast 4 or 5, decreasing 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less for a time in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate except in far north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in south.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first and 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in north, moderate or rough in south.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northeasterly 3 to 5 throughout in east, but in west, variable 3 or less, becoming northeasterly 4 for a time.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in east.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in east, becoming variable 3 at times in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in east, slight or moderate in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, occasionally 4 at first, becoming north or northeast 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North 2 to 4 veering northeast 4 or 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in east.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, increasing 4 at times in east but becoming northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5 in west.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming moderate from Land's End westwards.
- Weather
- Mainly fair then occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 at first in east, otherwise northerly veering easterly or northeasterly, 3 to 5, then veering southeasterly later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight until later from Land's End westwards, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 at times in east.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North veering east or northeast, 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near St David's Head.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North veering east 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Mainly smooth or slight, but slight or moderate to the north and east of Anglesey.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northwest 3 or 4, becoming cyclonic 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair then showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming east or northeast, 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in west.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Isle of Man (12)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 3 or 4, occasionally 2 at first and 5 later, then veering northeasterly later in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northerly at first in south, otherwise easterly or northeasterly, 3 to 5, veering southeasterly 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 at times in south, occasionally 6 later in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in far north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest 4 or 5 veering east or southeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in south and moderate at first in north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
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 3 or 4 veering northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, then veering northeasterly 3 to 5 later except in North Channel.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later near the Mull of Kintyre.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6 at first in North Channel, otherwise northeasterly veering southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 for a time later in far north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near the Mull of Kintyre.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 or 4 veering north 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west, and later also in far south, otherwise smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North 4 or 5 becoming cyclonic 3 to 5, then becoming south or southeast later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west and in far south, but elsewhere smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 to 5 veering north 5 or 6, decreasing 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in north and west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North 2 to 4 becoming variable 3 or less, then south 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in north, and later also in west, otherwise smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 to 5 veering north 5 or 6, decreasing 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later in north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North 2 to 4 becoming variable 3 or less, then south 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough at first in north, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later in north.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Shetland Isles (18)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming northwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming rough in north and west.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers, wintry at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Valid Monday 04 May 2026 at 1800 UTC until Tuesday 05 May 2026 at 0600 UTC
General situation
A shallow area of low pressure will move southeast over or just to the south of Shetland Waters tonight, followed by a rather cold showery north or northwest flow.
Forecast
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic 4 to 6 for a time in southwest, then becoming northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6 later
- Sea state
- Moderate, but slight just southeast of Shetland, becoming rough in northwest later.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, occasionally wintry
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor
Outlook for 12 Hours from 0600 UTC on Tuesday 05 May until 1800 UTC on Tuesday 05 May
- Wind
- North or northwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, but slight just southeast of Shetland.
- Weather
- Wintry showers
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor
Channel Islands (19)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- North 2 to 4, locally variable 1 to 2, veering northeast 3 to 4 by mid-morning, locally 5 mainly in the southeast of the area, backing northwest later.
- Sea state
- Smooth, locally slight.
- Weather
- Rain and showers, perhaps heavy and thundery overnight, risk of mist or fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good, locally poor or very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North to northwest 3 to 4, veering northeast to east after midnight, locally 5 mid-channel for a time in the morning.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in the north of the area.
- Weather
- Rain and mist or fog in the south, clearing overnight, isolated showers following.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor at first.
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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