Coast and sea
General situation
Pressure will remain high over the southern North Sea and the English Channel, maintaining settled conditions here, but with a risk of fog patches. Further north and west there will be a fresh locally strong south to southwesterly airflow, with various fronts bringing outbreaks of rain or drizzle to the far northwest.
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
- South 4 to 6 becoming variable 2 to 4, then southwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in north and near Rattray Head, but elsewhere smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in north.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 for a time.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in north, smooth or slight in south.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor until later in north.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first in north, decreasing 3 at times in south.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in north, smooth or slight in south.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first and 2 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South veering southwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first in north.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 3 or 4 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southeast 2 to 4, becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming southeast 3 or 4, veering south 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming southerly or southeasterly 3 or 4 for a time.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming easterly or southeasterly 2 to 4 for a time.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Northerly or northeasterly 2 to 4 at first in east, otherwise variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming easterly or northeasterly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming west or southwest 3 or 4 for a time.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming east or northeast 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming south or southwest 2 to 4, then becoming variable again later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in east, moderate in west.
- Weather
- Fog patches in east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in east.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable mainly northeasterly 2 to 4 in east, but elsewhere easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in east, moderate in west.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first in east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first in east.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less at first in east, otherwise westerly or southwesterly 2 to 4, backing southeasterly 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- East or southeast 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later near Cornwall.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in far northwest.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first, fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, becoming very poor at times later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South 3 or 4 becoming variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in south, smooth or slight in north.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in north and 3 in south.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in south, slight or moderate in north.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, becoming poor at times.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in north, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Isle of Man (12)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest 4 or 5 increasing 5 or 6, then decreasing 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming slight later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southwest 3 or 4 backing south or southeast 3 or less, then backing east or northeast later.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, backing south or southeast 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at times, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 or 4, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate in far north and smooth elsewhere.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first in east.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first in east.
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 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at times, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southerly or southwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in north and 3 in south.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in northwest, but elsewhere slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South 3 to 5 becoming variable mainly southeast 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Rough at first near western Tiree, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
The Minch (16)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Mainly slight or moderate, but smooth or slight just north and east of Skye.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- South or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Mainly slight or moderate, but smooth or slight just north and east of Skye.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle with fog patches, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor, becoming good later.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate near Sutherland, but elsewhere moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming southwest, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Rough at first in far south, otherwise slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or drizzle with fog patches, becoming fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor, becoming good later.
Shetland Isles (18)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South veering southwest 5 or 6, then becoming variable 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in west.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Valid Sunday 27 Apr 2025 at 0600 UTC until Sunday 27 Apr 2025 at 1800 UTC
General situation
Frontal troughs cross Shetland waters Sunday morning and again from Sunday evening while a south or southwesterly flow covers Shetland Waters.
Forecast
- Wind
- Southeasterly veering southwesterly 5 or 6, decreasing 3 or 4 from south later
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough
- Weather
- Rain at times
- Visibility
- Mainly good, occasionally moderate or poor
Outlook for 12 Hours from 1800 UTC on Sunday 27 Apr until 0600 UTC on Monday 28 Apr
- Wind
- South or southwest 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 or 3 for a time
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough
- Weather
- Rain
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate or poor
Channel Islands (19)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- North 2 to 3, locally variable 1 to 2 at first, occasionally 4 in the southeast of the area this afternoon, veering east 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, with a low swell.
- Weather
- Widespread mist or haze, with a risk of fog patches, mainly near the French coast.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good, occasionally poor, perhaps locally very poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- East to northeast 2 to 3, locally 4, increasing 3 to 4 by evening, perhaps occasionally 5 in the north and west of the area.
- Sea state
- Smooth to slight, with a low swell.
- Weather
- Areas of haze or mist, with a risk of fog patches at first, mainly near the French coast, clearing during the afternoon.
- Visibility
- Moderate to good, occasionally poor, perhaps locally very 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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