Coast and Sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings


The general synopsis at midday

High 250 miles west of Shannon 1025 expected just west of Rockall 1032 by midday tomorrow

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map


Viking

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 later in east.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

North Utsire

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

South Utsire

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Forties

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Cromarty

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Occasional rain, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Forth

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Occasional rain, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Tyne

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Occasional rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Dogger

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Occasional rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Fisher

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming northwesterly 4 to 6 in northwest and later elsewhere.
Sea state
Smooth or slight becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Fog patches.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very poor.

German Bight

Wind
North or northeast 2 to 4, occasionally 5 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming moderate later in northwest.
Weather
Fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Humber

Wind
East or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Thames

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Dover

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Wight

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Portland

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Plymouth

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Biscay

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight occasionally moderate.
Weather
Thundery showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Trafalgar

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less in north.
Sea state
Slight, occasionally moderate at first in southeast and later in west.
Weather
Showers in west.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

FitzRoy

Wind
Variable 2 to 4 at first in southeast, otherwise cyclonic, mainly northeasterly, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in southeast.
Weather
Thundery showers, fog patches in northwest.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in southeast and very poor in northwest.

Sole

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough in far west.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Lundy

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate in west, smooth or slight in east.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Fastnet

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Irish Sea

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in south.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Shannon

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough in west.
Weather
Thundery showers at first.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Rockall

Wind
In northwest, variable 2 to 4. In southeast, northerly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
In northwest, moderate, occasionally slight later. in southeast, moderate.
Weather
In northwest, fair. In southeast, occasional rain at first.
Visibility
In northwest, good. In southeast, good, occasionally poor.

Rockall

Wind
In northwest, variable 2 to 4. In southeast, northerly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
In northwest, moderate, occasionally slight later. in southeast, moderate.
Weather
In northwest, fair. In southeast, occasional rain at first.
Visibility
In northwest, good. In southeast, good, occasionally poor.

Malin

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
Weather
Occasional rain at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Hebrides

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, becoming northeasterly 3 to 5 in southeast.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first in far northwest.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Bailey

Wind
Southwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 or 3 in southeast.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first in north.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Fair Isle

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
Weather
Occasional rain in southeast.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in southeast.

Faeroes

Wind
Southwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 in far south.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first, becoming slight at times in east.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

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.

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