Coast and sea
General situation
The United Kingdom will lie in a mainly southerly or southeasterly airflow during the next 48 hours, with many places having either rain or showers. Some fog is also likely in the east at times.
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
- Variable 3 or less at first in Moray Firth, otherwise south or southeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in Moray Firth, but elsewhere slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches at first in Moray Firth.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, becoming poor at times, but occasionally very poor at first in Moray Firth.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 at times in Moray Firth, occasionally 6 later in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in north, mainly slight or moderate in south, but occasionally smooth in Moray Firth.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less in south, and later also in north.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight at first in south, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming southeast 3 or 4, increasing 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate in north, slight or moderate in south.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first and 2 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at times, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or poor, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South 2 to 4 backing southeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at times, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly, veering southerly later, 3 to 5, decreasing 2 at times in south.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate at first in north but becoming smooth at times in south.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or poor, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 or 4, increasing 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate later in north.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or poor, occasionally good later.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4, veering southerly or southeasterly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, fog patches in north.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in north and poor in south.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly veering southerly or southeasterly, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming moderate later in west.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable becoming south or southeast, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in west.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South 2 to 4, increasing 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight becoming moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, increasing 4 at times, but becoming southerly 5 or 6 later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later in Lyme Bay but becoming rough later near the Isles of Scilly.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in east.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 at first in east and cyclonic 4 to 6 at first in west, but becoming southerly or southeasterly 5 to 7 later, occasionally gale 8 later in west.
- Sea state
- In east, smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate, but in west, moderate or rough, becoming very rough later near the Isles of Scilly.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later in west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later in west.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, increasing 4 at times, but becoming southerly or southeasterly 5 or 6 later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches in east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in east.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southeasterly, veering southwesterly for a time, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4 for a time, then increasing 7 or gale 8 later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth at first in east but becoming moderate or rough in west.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later in west, fog patches at first in far east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first in far east and poor later in west.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 at times in Cardigan Bay, Caernarfon Bay and to the east of Anglesey.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in east.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable mainly southeast 2 to 4 veering south or southwest 4 to 6, backing southeast 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate, occasionally rough in west.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in northwest.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in east.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4 becoming south or southeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in north.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in east.
Isle of Man (12)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 until later.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- East or southeast 2 to 4 veering south 5 or 6, backing southeast 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in north, but then decreasing 3 later in northwest.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6, occasionally 3 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in far north.
- Weather
- Rain or 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
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in North Channel.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight in far north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 3 in far north.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight in far north.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later in west.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6 backing east or southeast 3 to 5, veering south or southeast 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in west and slight in east.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west and south, smooth or slight in east and north.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 for a time, then increasing 7 for a time later in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west and south, smooth or slight in east and north.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough in west and south.
- Weather
- Showers, then rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 for a time, then increasing 7 for a time later in south and west.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough in west and south.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Shetland Isles (18)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 4 to 6, occasionally 3 at first.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight at first in northwest, becoming rough later in east.
- Weather
- Rain or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Valid Sunday 18 Jan 2026 at 1200 UTC until Monday 19 Jan 2026 at 0000 UTC
General situation
High pressure over Scandinavia and low pressure to the west of the UK will maintain a southeast airflow over Shetland Waters.
Forecast
- Wind
- Southeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, becoming rough in east
- Weather
- Rain or showers
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor
Outlook for 12 Hours from 0000 UTC on Monday 19 Jan until 1200 UTC on Monday 19 Jan
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in east
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough
- Weather
- Rain or showers, becoming fair later in west
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor
Channel Islands (19)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southeast 2 to 3, occasionally 4, veering south by midnight.
- Sea state
- Smooth, locally slight, with a low swell.
- Weather
- Occasional rain and drizzle, mist and a risk of fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good, locally poor or perhaps very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly 2 to 4, increasing 4 to 5 in the evening, and 5 to 6 towards dawn, backing southeast 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight with a low swell, increasing moderate to rather rough in the in the northwest of the area later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain and drizzle, dying out in the evening, mist and a risk of fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate, locally poor or perhaps very 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.
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.