Coast and Sea

Inshore waters and strong winds


General situation

High pressure centred over the Atlantic will bring a generally light to moderate northerly or northeasterly flow to the inshore waters, but winds will increase later in the west. The weather will continue mainly fair in most areas, although showers or drizzle may develop at times in northeast and later in northwest.

Issued at: .

For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore for the period 06:00 (UTC) on Fri 17 Jul 2026 to 06:00 (UTC) on Sat 18 Jul 2026

Inshore waters and strong winds map


Cape Wrath to Rattray Head including Orkney (1)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later near Rattray Head.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate except in Moray Firth.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 until later in east.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth at first in Moray Firth.
Weather
Drizzle or showers for a time.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed (2)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later near Rattray Head, but variable 3 or less in south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate except in Firth of Forth.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in east, but variable 2 to 4 in st andrews bay and Firth of Forth.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in Firth of Forth, and rough at times later in northeast.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby (3)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Mainly north 3 or 4, increasing 4 or 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth at first.
Weather
Drizzle for a time.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
North or northwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers for a time.
Visibility
Good.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point (4)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast backing northwest later 3 or 4, occasionally 2 at first and 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Showers later.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
North or northwest 4 or 5.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight at first and rough later in north.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Gibraltar Point to North Foreland (5)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in south, becoming variable 2 to 4 for a time.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly veering northeasterly for a time in south 3 to 5, occasionally 2 in Thames estuary.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate except in Thames estuary.
Weather
Showers in north.
Visibility
Good.

North Foreland to Selsey Bill (6)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeasterly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first in east, becoming variable 3 or less for a time.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 2 at first.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later near North Foreland.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis (7)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less, becoming southwest 3 or 4, then veering northeast later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or god.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northeast 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later, becoming variable 2 to 4 for a time.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming northerly or northeasterly 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Mainly northerly 3 or 4, but variable 3 or less in east, veering easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later from land's end westwards.
Weather
Showers later.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or until later in east, otherwise northerly or northeasterly backing northwesterly later, 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 for a time in west, becoming variable 3 or less for a time in east.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in west.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less at first in Cardigan Bay and east of Anglesey, otherwise mainly northerly 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly veering northeasterly later, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 for a time and decreasing 2 later in east.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate for a time in west.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Great Orme Head to the Mull of Galloway (11)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5, becoming northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6 later in west and northwest, but variable 3 or less later in east.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate later near Mull galloway.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in northwest, but variable 2 to 4 at times in east and Solway Firth, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate until later in west.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Isle of Man (12)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northeast backing north or northwest 3 to 5, increasing 4 to 6 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming slight later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Lough Foyle to Carlingford Lough (13)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming northerly or northwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later except in far south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later, except along the south down coast.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 3 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth at times south of strangford lough.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Cyclonic becoming northerly or northwesterly 3 or 4, increasing 5 or 6 later in North Channel, occasionally variable 3 or less in northeast.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate in North Channel.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate in North Channel.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in North Channel, decreasing 2 or 3 elsewhere, becoming cyclonic 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate until later in North Channel, but elsewhere smooth or slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point (15)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Variable 3 or less at first in southeast, otherwise northerly or northeasterly backing northwesterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 until later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in sheltered east.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Mainly northerly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 for a time.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in sheltered east.
Weather
Drizzle or showers for a time.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

The Minch (16)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly backing northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in entrances.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly veering northeasterly for a time, 3 to 5, backing northwest 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate until later near entrances.
Weather
Drizzle or showers for a time.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath (17)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly backing northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming mainly moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
Northerly veering northeasterly for a time, 3 to 5, backing northwest 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Drizzle or showers for a time.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Shetland Isles (18)

Strong winds are forecast

24 hour forecast:

Wind
North or northwest 4 or 5, occasionally 3 at first and 6 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth at times east of Shetland.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

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

Valid Friday 17 Jul 2026 at 0600 UTC until Friday 17 Jul 2026 at 1800 UTC

General situation

An area of high pressure will persist to the west of Scotland while low pressure develops over southern Scandinavia.

Forecast

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight, but smooth just east of shetland.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Outlook for 12 Hours from 1800 UTC on Friday 17 Jul until 0600 UTC on Saturday 18 Jul

Wind
North or northwest 4 or 5, increasing 6 in east later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but smooth just east of shetland at first.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good.

Channel Islands (19)

24 hour forecast:

Wind
East to northeast 3 to 4, locally variable 1 to 2, backing north this afternoon, then west to northwest 2 to 3 later.
Sea state
Smooth, locally slight.
Weather
A risk of isolated showers until midday.
Visibility
Good, perhaps locally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours:

Wind
West to northwest 2 to 3, veering north to northeast 3 to 4 by mid-afternoon, then northeast to east 4 to 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
A risk of mist patches in the north and west.
Visibility
Good, perhaps locally moderate to 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.

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