Coast and Sea
Shipping forecast and gale warnings
The general synopsis at midnight
High German Bight 1028 expected northern poland 1030 by midnight tonight
Issued at: .
For the period to .
Shipping forecast and gale warnings map
Viking
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight at first in east, otherwise moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
North Utsire
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 increasing 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Slight becoming moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
South Utsire
- Wind
- Northwesterly backing southerly, 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good.
Forties
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Cromarty
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in east, smooth or slight in west.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Forth
- Wind
- Southerly or southeasterly 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 in west.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate.
Tyne
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Dogger
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Fisher
- Wind
- Northwesterly 4 or 5 at first in northeast, otherwise variable becoming southerly 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
German Bight
- Wind
- Variable 3 or less becoming east or southeast 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight, occasionally smooth in east and south.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Humber
- Wind
- East or southeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Thames
- Wind
- East or northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Dover
- Wind
- East or northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Wight
- Wind
- East or northeast 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate becoming smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Portland
- Wind
- East or northeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight in south.
- Weather
- Fair.
- Visibility
- Good.
Plymouth
- Wind
- East 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor later.
Biscay
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in north and west, slight throughout in south and east.
- Weather
- Fog patches later.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally very poor later.
Trafalgar (issued 23:15 UTC+1)
- Wind
- Mainly northerly or northwesterly 3 to 5, but variable 3 or less in west and variable 2 to 4 in far southeast.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor near portugal.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southeast, northerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in south. In northwest, southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate.
- Weather
- In southeast, fair. In northwest, showers, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in northwest.
FitzRoy
- Wind
- In southeast, northerly or northwesterly 2 to 4, occasionally 5 in south. In northwest, southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- In southeast, slight or moderate. in northwest, moderate.
- Weather
- In southeast, fair. In northwest, showers, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate in northwest.
Sole
- Wind
- In west, southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5. In east, variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- In west, moderate. in east, slight or moderate.
- Weather
- In west, showers, perhaps thundery. In east, mainly fair.
- Visibility
- In west, good, occasionally moderate. In east, good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.
Sole
- Wind
- In west, southerly or southwesterly 3 to 5. In east, variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- In west, moderate. in east, slight or moderate.
- Weather
- In west, showers, perhaps thundery. In east, mainly fair.
- Visibility
- In west, good, occasionally moderate. In east, good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.
Lundy
- Wind
- Easterly 4 or 5 at first in east, otherwise variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.
Fastnet
- Wind
- Variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Showers, perhaps thundery.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally moderate at first and poor later.
Irish Sea
- Wind
- South or southeast 3 to 5 becoming variable 2 to 4.
- Sea state
- Smooth or slight.
- Weather
- Mainly fair.
- Visibility
- Good, occasionally poor later.
Shannon
- Wind
- South 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Rockall
- Wind
- South 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Malin
- Wind
- South 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough in west, slight or moderate in east.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Hebrides
- Wind
- South 4 or 5, occasionally 6.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate in east, moderate or rough in west.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Bailey
- Wind
- South 4 or 5, occasionally 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Rain or showers, perhaps thundery, fog patches.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.
Fair Isle
- Wind
- Southeast 4 to 6 veering south or southwest 3 to 5.
- Sea state
- Slight or moderate.
- Weather
- Occasional rain or showers, fog patches later in west.
- Visibility
- Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first in west and very poor later in west.
Faeroes
- Wind
- Southerly 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, perhaps thundery, fog banks.
- Visibility
- Moderate to very poor.
Southeast Iceland
- Wind
- Cyclonic in northwest but southerly in southeast, 4 to 6.
- Sea state
- Moderate or rough.
- Weather
- Occasional rain, perhaps thundery, fog banks.
- 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.