Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at 1800
Low east Iceland 1003 moving slowly northeast with little change by 1800 Friday
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Wind
- South 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery showers and fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Southerly 5 or 6, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery showers, fog patches developing.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Southeasterly 4 or 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate at first.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Forties
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west or northwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally moderate at first in north.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west or northwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in west.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Forth
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west or northwest 3 to 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in west.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Tyne
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
Dogger
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate later.
Fisher
- Wind
- South, veering northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth.
- Weather
- Thundery showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
German Bight
- Wind
- South, veering northwest later, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Humber
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Thundery showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Thames
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Possible thundery showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Dover
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Possible thundery showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Wight
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Possible thundery showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Portland
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Plymouth
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Biscay
- Wind
- Northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Thundery showers later in south.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Trafalgar
- Wind
- North or northwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough later in north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- North 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough later in south.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Sole
- Wind
- Northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lundy
- Wind
- West 2 to 4, veering northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Fastnet
- Wind
- West 2 to 4, veering northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming northwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Shannon
- Wind
- West or northwest 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Rockall
- Wind
- West or northwest 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough in far north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Malin
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming west 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery at first.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor at first.
Bailey
- Wind
- Southwest veering west 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough in south.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- Southwest veering west 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in southeast.
- Weather
- Showers, thundery at first with fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Southwest veering west 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Southwesterly becoming cyclonic 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Shipping forecast information
The shipping forecast is issued four times a day at 2300, 0500, 1100, 1700 UTC and covers a period of 24 hours from 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC respectively.
The waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas shown on the map.
The forecast contains details of gale warnings in force, a general synopsis and sea-area forecasts containing wind direction and force, sea state, weather and visibility.
Gale warnings are issued as required throughout the day (for winds of Gale Force 8 or more).
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.