Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at midday
Low north of Faeroes 997 expected Norwegian Basin 994 by midday tomorrow
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Westerly gale force 8 expected soon
- Wind
- Southwest 5 or 6 veering west 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in north.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Southwesterly veering westerly, 4 to 6, occasionally 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough later.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Southwesterly veering westerly, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally slight at first.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Forties
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, veering northwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 4 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, veering northwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 4 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth in southwest.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Forth
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, veering northwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 4 or less.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth in west.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Tyne
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Dogger
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Fisher
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight at first.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
German Bight
- Wind
- West or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight at first.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Humber
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in west.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor later.
Thames
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, increasing 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Slight occasionally smooth, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Dover
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6.
- Sea state
- Slight occasionally smooth, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Wight
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6.
- Sea state
- Slight occasionally smooth, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Portland
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6.
- Sea state
- Slight occasionally smooth, becoming slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Plymouth
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, increasing 5 or 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Biscay
- Wind
- Variable 4 or less, becoming southwesterly 4 or 5 in northwest.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Trafalgar (issued 23:15 UTC+1)
- Wind
- Mainly northerly 4 to 6, but variable 3 or less in northwest.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough at first in south but becoming slight later in northwest.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southeast, northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5. In northwest, southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate occasionally slight.
- Weather
- In southeast, showers. In northwest, rain.
- Visibility
- In southeast, good. In northwest, moderate or good.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southeast, northerly or northeasterly 3 to 5. In northwest, southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate occasionally slight.
- Weather
- In southeast, showers. In northwest, rain.
- Visibility
- In southeast, good. In northwest, moderate or good.
Sole
- Wind
- Southwesterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally slight, becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good.
Lundy
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Southwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Southwest 3 to 5, becoming cyclonic 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Shannon
- Wind
- Cyclonic becoming southwest, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Rockall
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4, becoming cyclonic 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough later.
- Weather
- Rain, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Malin
- Wind
- West or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4, then cyclonic 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in southeast.
- Weather
- Rain, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Northwest veering southeast, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Bailey
- Wind
- Northwest veering southeast, 4 to 6, increasing 7, perhaps gale 8 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Fair Isle
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Northwesterly gale force 8 expected later
- Wind
- Northwesterly 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Faeroes
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Northwesterly gale force 8 expected later
- Wind
- Northwesterly 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6 later.
- Sea state
- Rough or very rough, occasionally high, becoming moderate or rough later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Southeast Iceland
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Northwesterly gale force 8 expected soon
- Wind
- Northwesterly 6 to gale 8, decreasing 4 to 6 later, veering easterly or northeasterly later.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough, but slight in northwest.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- 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.