Coast and sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings

The general synopsis at midday

High Humber 1016 dissipating by midday tomorrow. New low expected Forties 1012 by same time

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map

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Viking

Wind
Northwesterly 4 or 5, becoming variable 3 or less for a time, then occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming rough later in north.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

North Utsire

Wind
Northwesterly 4 or 5, becoming variable 3 or less for a time, then occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

South Utsire

Wind
Northwesterly 4 or 5, becoming variable 3 or less for a time, then occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming slight in east.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Forties

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later, then becoming north later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.

Cromarty

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later, then becoming north later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight until later in west, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.

Forth

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later, then becoming north later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight until later in west, otherwise slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.

Tyne

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming north or northwest 4 to 6 later.
Sea state
Slight, becoming moderate later.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Dogger

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming north or northwest 4 to 6 later.
Sea state
Slight, becoming moderate later.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Fisher

Wind
West 4 or 5 becoming variable 3 or less, then cyclonic 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.

German Bight

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Humber

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming north 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming moderate later in northwest.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Thames

Wind
Northeasterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

Dover

Wind
Northeasterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.

Wight

Wind
In southeast, northeasterly 3 to 5. In northwest, variable 3 or less becoming cyclonic mainly northerly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later in southeast.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
In southeast, moderate or good, occasionally poor at first. In northwest, good, occasionally moderate.

Portland

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming cyclonic mainly northerly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in south and moderate in north.

Plymouth

Wind
Variable 3 or less becoming cyclonic mainly northerly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight in northeast, slight or moderate in southwest.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Biscay

Wind
In north, variable 3 or less becoming cyclonic mainly northerly 3 to 5. In south, westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
In north, showers, perhaps thundery at first. In south, thundery showers.
Visibility
In north, good, occasionally moderate. In south, good, occasionally poor.

Trafalgar

Forecast issued:

Wind
Northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in southeast.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in southeast.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

FitzRoy

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 at first in east, otherwise northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally slight in east.
Weather
Thundery showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Sole

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 at first in east, otherwise northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally slight in east.
Weather
Thundery showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Lundy

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in east.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Fastnet

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in northeast.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Irish Sea

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Shannon

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Rockall

Wind
Northwest 3 to 5 veering north or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Malin

Wind
Northwest 3 to 5 veering north or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Hebrides

Wind
Northwest 3 to 5 veering north or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in southeast, moderate or rough in northwest.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Bailey

Wind
Northwest 3 to 5 veering north or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Fair Isle

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5 becoming north 4 to 6, backing northwest 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very poor.

Faeroes

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5 becoming north 4 to 6, backing northwest 3 to 5 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very poor.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Northwesterly 5 or 6, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5 in southwest.
Sea state
Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in east and slight in west.
Weather
Sleet or snow showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very 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.