Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at midday
High southwest Scotland 1044 expected Cromarty 1041 by midday tomorrow
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Wind
- North or northwest, becoming variable, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Northerly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Northerly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Forties
- Wind
- Northerly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Northwesterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Forth
- Wind
- North 3 to 5, veering northeast 3 or 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming slight.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Tyne
- Wind
- Northerly veering northeasterly 4 or 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Dogger
- Wind
- Northerly veering northeasterly 4 or 5, but 6 at first in southeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in north.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Fisher
- Wind
- North or northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate becoming slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
German Bight
- Wind
- Northeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally rough, becoming moderate occasionally slight later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Humber
- Wind
- Northeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally rough, becoming moderate occasionally slight later.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Thames
- Wind
- Northeast 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Dover
- Wind
- Northeast 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Wight
- Wind
- Northeast 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally poor.
Portland
- Wind
- Northeast 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Plymouth
- Wind
- Northeast 5 to 7.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Biscay
- Wind
- Northeast 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate occasionally slight in east.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Trafalgar (issued 00:15 UTC)
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in far southeast.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in far east.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
FitzRoy
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Northeasterly gale force 8 expected later
- Wind
- In south, cyclonic, mainly northeasterly, 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in north. In north, easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- In south, moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough for a time in west. in north, moderate or rough.
- Weather
- In south, showers in east. In north, showers.
- Visibility
- In south, good, occasionally moderate in east. In north, good.
FitzRoy
- Gale warning
-
Issued:
Northeasterly gale force 8 expected later
- Wind
- In south, cyclonic, mainly northeasterly, 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 in north. In north, easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- In south, moderate or rough, becoming rough or very rough for a time in west. in north, moderate or rough.
- Weather
- In south, showers in east. In north, showers.
- Visibility
- In south, good, occasionally moderate in east. In north, good.
Sole
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Lundy
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Easterly or northeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- Northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Showers later.
- Visibility
- Good.
Shannon
- Wind
- Easterly or southeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 at first in south.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in northeast.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Rockall
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, occasionally 6 in west.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally rough in northwest and slight in southeast.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Malin
- Wind
- Variable, mainly southeast, 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Hebrides
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less, becoming south 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate, becoming rough later in northwest.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Bailey
- Wind
- South 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate becoming rough, then very rough later in northwest.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- West or northwest 3 or 4, becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later in southeast.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good occasionally moderate, but poor at first in far north.
Faeroes
- Wind
- West 3 or 4, backing south or southwest 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate, occasionally slight in northeast, becoming rough in west.
- Weather
- Showers, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Southwesterly 5 to 7, perhaps gale 8 later in far north.
- Sea state
- Moderate becoming rough, then rough or very rough later.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or drizzle, fog patches at first.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
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.