Coast and Sea

Inshore waters and strong winds


General situation

An Atlantic low will bring rain, showers and strong winds to the coastal waters during the next couple of days, with thundery showers for a time on Tuesday.

Issued at: .

For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore for the period 00:00 (UTC) on Tue 19 May 2026 to 00:00 (UTC) on Wed 20 May 2026

Inshore waters and strong winds map


Cape Wrath to Rattray Head including Orkney (1)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 4 to 6, increasing 6 or 7 for a time.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in north and east.
Weather
Fair then rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southeast 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5, then southwest 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough at first in northeast.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6 for a time, veering south later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in northeast.
Weather
Fair then rain, thundery showers later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South veering southwest, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth later in southwest.
Weather
Rain or showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 4 or 5, increasing 6 for a time, veering south later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair then rain, thundery showers later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South veering southwest, 4 or 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later.
Weather
Rain or showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South or southeast 4 to 6, veering southwest 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair then rain, thundery showers later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 3 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
Weather
Rain or showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6, veering southwesterly later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in the wash and Thames estuary.
Weather
Fair then rain, thundery showers later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwesterly 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in east.
Weather
Rain or showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southerly 4 or 5, increasing 6, veering southwesterly 5 or 6.
Sea state
Slight becoming moderate.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwesterly 5 or 6, decreasing 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight later.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South veering southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough later in southwest.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first and slight later.
Weather
Showers at first.
Visibility
Good.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South veering southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain then showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 to 6, backing south 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally slight in lyme bay and very rough at first near the Isles of Scilly.
Weather
Showers, fair later.
Visibility
Good.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South veering southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, but slight in east.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 to 6, backing south 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, but slight in east.
Weather
Showers, rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor later.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 4 to 6, veering southwest 5 or 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough except in northeast.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers, fog patches at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 to 6, backing south later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally slight in northeast.
Weather
Showers, rain later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor later.

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first, veering southwest later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in Liverpool Bay.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, rain later in south.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor later in south.

Isle of Man (12)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 5 or 6, veering west or southwest 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
West or southwest, backing south or southwest later, 4 or 5.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 5 or 6, veering south 4 to 6, then southwest 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers, fog patches at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 or 5 backing south 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeasterly 4 to 6, veering southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers, fog patches at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwesterly 3 to 5, backing southerly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in North Channel.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 5 to 7, veering south 3 or 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in northwest.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery in south.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
South 3 or 4, veering southwest 4 to 6 for a time.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming rough in northwest.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

The Minch (16)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first in south, veering southerly 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight except in south.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southerly 3 or 4, veering southwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate in south, otherwise smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeasterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first in south, veering southerly 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first in southwest, becoming slight later in northeast.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southerly 3 or 4, veering southwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Shetland Isles (18)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Southeast 4 to 6, increasing 6 or 7.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming rough except in northwest.
Weather
Mainly fair then rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

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

Strong wind warning

Valid Tuesday 19 May 2026 at 0000 UTC until Tuesday 19 May 2026 at 1200 UTC

General situation

Southeasterly flow will strengthen on Tuesday. Atlantic front will move northeast towards Shetland on Tuesday afternoon and evening.

Forecast

Wind
Southeasterly 5 to 7, but 4 at first in east
Sea state
Moderate, becoming rough in west and south. slight just east of shetland at first.
Weather
Fair
Visibility
Good

Outlook for 12 Hours from 1200 UTC on Tuesday 19 May until 0000 UTC on Wednesday 20 May

Wind
Southeast 6 or 7
Sea state
Mainly rough, but moderate in east and north at first
Weather
Rain
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate or poor

Channel Islands (19)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
South 5 to 6 with gusts locally to 35kt, veering southwest 4 to 5 mid morning, perhaps locally 6.
Sea state
Slight to moderate overnight with a low swell, increasing rather rough to rough in the northwest later.
Weather
Rain spreading eastwards, locally heavy, clearing to isolated showers around dawn, perhaps locally heavy later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate, locally poor at times.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Southwest 4 to 5, occasionally 6, veering west by midday Wednesday, locally variable 1 to 3 in the south of the area, backing south 2 to 3 later.
Sea state
Slight to moderate with a low swell in the southeast, rather rough to rough till midday in the north and west.
Weather
Isolated showers, dying out around dawn.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate, perhaps locally poor.

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.