Coast and sea

Inshore waters and strong winds

General situation

High pressure, centred near Iceland, will bring an easterly flow across the United Kingdom. Light or moderate winds for most areas on Monday will then strengthen, becoming fresh to strong especially in the south on Tuesday and Wednesday, with gales in the far southwest. Some showers are expected at first, mainly in the north and east, otherwise mainly fair conditions will dominate.

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
Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in northwest.
Sea state
Smooth or slight at first in Moray Firth, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northeasterly 2 to 4, becoming variable 2 or 3 for a time in southeast.
Sea state
Slight or moderate at first in north, otherwise slight, occasionally smooth in Moray Firth.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 or 3, becoming east 3 to 5, backing northeast 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northeast 3 or 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 2 or 3, increasing 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight, becoming moderate later.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

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

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or northeast 2 to 4, increasing 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Slight, becoming moderate later.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

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

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeasterly 3 or 4, increasing 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally smooth at first, becoming moderate later.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers in east.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 5 or 6, occasionally 4 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East or southeast 3 to 5, backing east or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East 4 to 6, backing east or northeast 5 to 7 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly or southeasterly 4 to 6, increasing 6 or 7 later in southwest.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later in west.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in far south.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough later in far west.
Weather
Fair, then occasional rain later in far southwest.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later in far southwest.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Easterly 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth or slight until later in north.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly 4 or 5 at first in far north, otherwise 5 to 7.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough near Lands End.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later in south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, becoming east or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth, becoming slight at times.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later in west.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Isle of Man (12)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, becoming east or northeast 4 or 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight occasionally moderate later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or northeast 4 or 5, increasing 5 or 6 for a time.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming east 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in far north and also later in far south.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight occasionally moderate.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth, but slight at times in the North Channel.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in North Channel.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeasterly veering easterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in west.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in sheltered east.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, increasing 6 at times in south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in sheltered east.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

The Minch (16)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeasterly veering easterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in north.
Sea state
Smooth or slight in central areas, slight or moderate elsewhere.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate at first near entrances.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeasterly veering easterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in north.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Showers until later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

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

Shetland Isles (18)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East 3 to 5, backing north or northeast 3 or 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

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

Strong wind warning

Valid Monday 20 Apr 2026 at 1200 UTC until Tuesday 21 Apr 2026 at 0000 UTC

General situation

High pressure will continue to build from the north.

Forecast

Wind
East or southeast 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4
Sea state
Moderate, but slight east of shetland and rough in west at first
Weather
Showers in south at first otherwise fair
Visibility
Good

Outlook for 12 Hours from 0000 UTC on Tuesday 21 Apr until 1200 UTC on Tuesday 21 Apr

Wind
Variable becoming north or northeast 2 to 4
Sea state
Slight or moderate
Weather
Fair
Visibility
Good

Channel Islands (19)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East to northeast 4 to 5, increasing 5 to 6 by dusk.
Sea state
Slight to moderate, increasing rather rough in the northwest after midnight.
Weather
Fair or fine.
Visibility
Good or very good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
East to northeast 5 to 6, increasing 6 to 7 after dusk, backing east 5 to 6 later.
Sea state
Slight in the far southeast, moderate to rather rough elsewhere, increasing rough in the far north by evening.
Weather
Fair or fine.
Visibility
Good or very good.

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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