Coast and Sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings


The general synopsis at midday

High Fair Isle 1034, slow moving, declining 1033 by midday tomorrow. New lows expected Biscay and FitzRoy, both 1010, by same time

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map


Viking

Wind
Northerly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

North Utsire

Wind
Northerly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

South Utsire

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly 5 or 6, decreasing 3 or 4.
Sea state
Moderate, becoming slight later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Forties

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly, 3 or 4, increasing 5 at times.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Cromarty

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly, but easterly in west, 3 or 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Forth

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly 3 or 4.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Tyne

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly, 3 or 4, increasing 5 at times.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Dogger

Wind
Northerly or northeasterly, 3 or 4, increasing 5 at times.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Mainly fair.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Fisher

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
Weather
Thundery showers in far east.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in far east.

German Bight

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in east.
Weather
Thundery showers in far east.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in far east.

Humber

Wind
Northeast 4 or 5.
Sea state
Moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Thames

Wind
Northeasterly 5 or 6, occasionally 4 later in north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Dover

Wind
Northeasterly 5 or 6, increasing 7 at times.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Wight

Gale warning
Issued:

Northeasterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Northeast 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 until later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers later in south, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later in south.

Portland

Gale warning
Issued:

Northeasterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Northeast 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 until later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers later in south, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later in south.

Plymouth

Gale warning
Issued:

Northeasterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind
Northeast 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 until later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Showers later in south, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate later in south.

Biscay

Wind
Cyclonic, becoming mainly west, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Thundery showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally poor.

Trafalgar

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, increasing 5 later in far northwest.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally slight in far east.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

FitzRoy

Wind
Cyclonic, but northeasterly in far north, 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in far north.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough in far north and slight in far southeast.
Weather
Thundery showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally poor.

Sole

Wind
East or northeast 5 to 7.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Thundery showers.
Visibility
Good occasionally moderate.

Lundy

Wind
East or northeast 5 to 7.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Fastnet

Wind
East or northeast 5 to 7.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Irish Sea

Wind
East or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Shannon

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later in far southeast.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Rockall

Wind
Northeast veering east, 3 or 4, increasing 5 at times.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Malin

Wind
East or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in west.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Hebrides

Wind
Easterly or northeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later in south.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Bailey

Wind
Variable 2 to 4, but southwesterly 4 or 5 in far north.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Fair Isle

Wind
Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight.
Weather
Fair.
Visibility
Good.

Faeroes

Wind
In southeast, variable 2 to 4. In northwest, southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
In southeast, slight. in northwest, slight or moderate.
Weather
In southeast, fair. In northwest, showers.
Visibility
Good.

Faeroes

Wind
In southeast, variable 2 to 4. In northwest, southwesterly 3 to 5.
Sea state
In southeast, slight. in northwest, slight or moderate.
Weather
In southeast, fair. In northwest, showers.
Visibility
Good.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Southwesterly 3 to 5, but 6 or 7 in northwest.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in far 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.

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