Coast and Sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings

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The general synopsis at 1800

High 400 miles west of FitzRoy 1024 expected just west of FitzRoy 1025 by 1800 Tuesday

Issued at: 23:15 (UTC) on Mon 06 Jul 2026.

For the period 00:00 (UTC) on Tue 07 Jul 2026 to 00:00 (UTC) on Wed 08 Jul 2026.

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map

Shipping forecast and gale warnings explained

Viking

Wind: Northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Rain at first.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

North Utsire

Wind: Northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Rain at first.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

South Utsire

Wind: Northerly or northwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Rain at first.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor at first.

Forties

Wind: Westerly veering northwesterly, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first, becoming variable 3 later in west.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally rough in east and slight in west.
Weather: Rain.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Cromarty

Wind: West 4 or 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state: Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth in west.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Forth

Wind: West 5 to 7, becoming cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state: Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Moderate or good.

Tyne

Wind: West or northwest 3 to 5, occasionally 6 until later.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Moderate or good.

Dogger

Wind: West or northwest 3 to 5, occasionally 6 until later.
Sea state: Slight or moderate, occasionally rough at first in east.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Moderate or good.

Fisher

Gale warning: Issued: 15:52 (UTC) on Mon 06 Jul 2026

Northwesterly gale force 8 expected later

Wind: Westerly 4 to 6, veering northwesterly 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in northeast.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

German Bight

Wind: Westerly 4 to 6, veering northwesterly 5 to 7.
Sea state: Moderate or rough.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Humber

Wind: Westerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in east.
Sea state: Slight or moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain.
Visibility: Good.

Thames

Wind: West or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state: Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate.
Weather: Fair.
Visibility: Moderate or good.

Dover

Wind: West or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state: Smooth or slight.
Weather: Fair.
Visibility: Moderate or good.

Wight

Wind: West or southwest 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state: Smooth or slight.
Weather: Fair.
Visibility: Moderate or good.

Portland

Wind: Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state: Smooth or slight.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Plymouth

Wind: Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state: Smooth or slight.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Biscay

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

Trafalgar

Wind: North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state: Slight occasionally moderate.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Good, occasionally very poor.

FitzRoy

Wind: Cyclonic 3 to 5.
Sea state: Slight, occasionally moderate at first.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Sole

Wind: Variable 2 to 4.
Sea state: Slight, occasionally moderate in west.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Lundy

Wind: West or northwest 3 to 5.
Sea state: Slight.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Fastnet

Wind: West or northwest 3 to 5.
Sea state: Slight, occasionally moderate later.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Irish Sea

Wind: West or southwest 3 to 5.
Sea state: Smooth or slight.
Weather: Occasional rain in north.
Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

Shannon

Wind: Variable mainly southwest, 2 to 4.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally slight in south.
Weather: Fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Rockall

Wind: Southwest 4 to 6.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather: Rain, fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Malin

Wind: Southwest 4 to 6.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather: Rain, fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Hebrides

Wind: Cyclonic becoming southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather: Rain, fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Bailey

Wind: Cyclonic becoming southwest, 4 to 6.
Sea state: Moderate.
Weather: Rain, fog patches.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Fair Isle

Wind: North or northeast becoming cyclonic, 3 to 5.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally slight in southeast.
Weather: Occasional rain, fog patches in southwest.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor in southwest.

Faeroes

Wind: Cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 3 at first.
Sea state: Moderate.
Weather: Occasional rain, fog patches developing.
Visibility: Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Southeast Iceland

Wind: Cyclonic 4 to 6, occasionally 3 at first, increasing 7 for a time in far west.
Sea state: Moderate, occasionally rough in far west.
Weather: Occasional rain, fog patches developing.
Visibility: Moderate or 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.