Coast and Sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings


The general synopsis at 0600

Slow moving low expected north Rockall 998 by 0600 tomorrow

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map


Viking

Wind
Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 2 or 3 later in west.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor.

North Utsire

Wind
Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor.

South Utsire

Wind
Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor.

Forties

Wind
South or southeast 4 or 5, becoming cyclonic 3 or 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor.

Cromarty

Wind
South or southeast 4 or 5, becoming cyclonic 3 or 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Rain and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor.

Forth

Wind
South 3 to 5, becoming cyclonic 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers or rain.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Tyne

Wind
South 3 to 5, becoming cyclonic 2 to 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers or rain.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

Dogger

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Fisher

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or less in in south.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

German Bight

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Humber

Wind
Southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Thames

Wind
South or southwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Dover

Wind
South or southwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Wight

Wind
South or southwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate later.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Portland

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5, veering west 5 or 6 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery for a time, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Plymouth

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5, veering west 5 or 6 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery for a time, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Biscay

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, but variable 3 or less at first in south.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming moderate or rough later.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Trafalgar

Wind
Northerly northwesterly, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in southeast.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough in southeast.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

FitzRoy

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly, veering northwesterly later in south, 4 to 6, but variable 3 or less at first in southeast.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Thundery showers, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Sole

Wind
Westerly or southwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Thundery showers, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Lundy

Wind
Southwest veering west 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers, and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Fastnet

Wind
Southwest veering west 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers, and fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Irish Sea

Wind
Southwest 3 to 5, decreasing 2 or 3 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later.
Weather
Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Shannon

Wind
Southwest veering west or northwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or thundery showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Rockall

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough later in south.
Weather
Rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Malin

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight at times in east.
Weather
Rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Hebrides

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight at times in east.
Weather
Rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Bailey

Wind
Cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Rain or showers, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Fair Isle

Wind
East or southeast becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor, occasionally good.

Faeroes

Wind
East or southeast becoming variable, 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to very poor, occasionally good.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, but northeasterly 4 or 5 at first in west.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Rain, fog patches.
Visibility
Moderate to 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.