Coast and Sea
Inshore waters and strong winds
General situation
High pressure across central and southern areas with mainly settled conditions, will gradually decline as a front bringing outbreaks of rain edges slowly southeastwards over the next couple of days, with showers following in the north. Strong winds will affect far north Scottish coasts at first on Tuesday and develop across some other coasts for a time through Wednesday. High pressure will then build from the west again later on Wednesday.
Issued at: .
For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore for the period 06:00 (UTC) on Tue 22 Sep 2026 to 06:00 (UTC) on Wed 23 Sep 2026
Inshore waters and strong winds map
Cape Wrath to Rattray Head including Orkney (1)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in far northwest, becoming variable 2 to 4, then northwesterly 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough to the west and north of Orkney, but elsewhere smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later near Rattray Head.
- Weather
- Showers in northwest, otherwise rain at times.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor in southeast.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly, backing southerly later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough to the west and north of Orkney, smooth or slight elsewhere, occasionally moderate near Rattray Head.
- Weather
- Rain then showers, fair later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in southeast.
Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then northwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later near Rattray Head.
- Weather
- Mainly fair then occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasional poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- North or northwest 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight occasionally moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, becoming mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable mainly south, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth later.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 2 to 4, veering north or northwest 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or less later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery, then showers, fair later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming south or southeast 3 or 4, veering southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair, showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, veering northwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first, decreasing 2 or 3 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, becoming mainly moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery rain or showers, becoming mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming southerly or southeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southerly 3 to 5, veering northwesterly 5 to 7, decreasing 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in northeast.
- Weather
- Thundery rain or showers for a time.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming southwesterly 3 to 5, then veering northwesterly 4 to 6, then northeasterly 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in far east.
- Weather
- Showers for a time.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming west or northwest 3 or 4, then veering east or northeast 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly (8)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming northwest 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate to the south and west of Lizard Point, smooth or slight elsewhere to the east.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle at first in west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in west.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 2 to 4, veering north or northeast, then southeast later, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate to the south and west of Lizard Point, elsewhere smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Lands End to St Davids Head including the Bristol Channel (9)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming west or northwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight in Bristol Channel, elsewhere slight, becoming moderate at times.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 or 4, veering north 4 to 6, then southeast 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in Bristol Channel.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
St Davids Head to Great Orme Head, including St Georges Channel (10)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming southwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, becoming moderate later near St Davids Head.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle or showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Southwest veering north or northwest, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first, then veering southeast later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first.
- Weather
- Thundery rain or showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable mainly southwest, 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle, rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming north or northwest, 4 to 6, backing south or southeast 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in south.
- Weather
- Thundery rain at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Isle of Man (12)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest 3 or 4, veering northwest 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate later.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle, rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 5 or 6, occasionally 7 at first, decreasing 4 or 5, backing south or southeast 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight occasionally moderate, becoming smooth or slight later.
- Weather
- Rain at first, then fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Variable mainly southwest, 2 to 4, becoming northwest 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in far north, smooth or slight elsewhere.
- Weather
- Rain at times.
- Visibility
- Good, occasional poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less later, then south 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate in far north, smooth or slight elsewhere.
- Weather
- Rain or showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
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 southwesterly 3 or 4, veering northwesterly 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near Mull of Kintyre.
- Weather
- Occasional drizzle, rain later.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less later, then southeasterly 4 or 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate near Mull of Kintyre and smooth in northeast.
- Weather
- Rain or showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then northwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough in west and slight in east.
- Weather
- Rain at times, showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 4 or 5, decreasing 2 or 3, backing south 5 or 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough in west and slight in east.
- Weather
- Showers at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
The Minch (16)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less, then west or northwest 3 or 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight just north of skye.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 or 4, backing south 5 or 6 later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate near entrances, becoming slight or moderate later.
- Weather
- Showers, fair later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- Westerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 2 in south and 6 at first in north.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Westerly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first, backing southerly 5 to 7 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally slight in far southeast.
- Weather
- Showers, fair later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Shetland Isles (18)
Strong winds are forecast
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- South or southwest 5 to 7, decreasing 3 or 4, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight to the east of Shetland and rough elsewhere.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, becoming fair for a time.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
For Coastal areas up to 60 nautical miles from Lerwick, Shetland (18)
Strong wind warning
Valid Tuesday 22 Sep 2026 at 0600 UTC until Tuesday 22 Sep 2026 at 1800 UTC
General situation
Low pressure lies near Iceland bringing a southwesterly flow across Shetland Waters. Low pressure forms south of Shetland early on Wednesday, moving east.
Forecast
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in northwest at first, decreasing 3 in southeast later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, slight in lee shelter east of shetland.
- Weather
- Occasional rain at first, then fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first.
Outlook for 12 Hours from 1800 UTC on Tuesday 22 Sep until 0600 UTC on Wednesday 23 Sep
- Wind
- Southwest 3 or 4, 5 in northwest at first. variable 3 or less in southeast later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, slight in lee shelter east of shetland. occasionally very rough in far west later.
- Weather
- Fair, occasional rain later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
Channel Islands (19)
24 hour forecast:
- Wind
- East 2 to 3, locally variable 1 to 2, backing northeast 3 to 4 this afternoon, veering southeast 2 to 3 after midnight, becoming west to northwest later.
- Sea state
- Smooth, locally slight, with a low swell.
- Weather
- A risk of mist or fog patches close to the french coast at first.
- Visibility
- Good or very good, perhaps locally poor or very poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind
- Northwest 2 to 3, locally variable 1 to 2 at first, increasing 3 to 4 by midday, veering north around dusk, then east later.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight, with a low swell.
- Weather
- A risk of mist or fog patches close to the french coast early Thursday morning.
- Visibility
- Good or very good, perhaps locally poor or very poor later.
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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