Coast and sea

Shipping forecast and gale warnings

The general synopsis at midnight

New low expected 100 miles south of Iceland 1009 by midnight tonight

Issued at: .

For the period to .

Shipping forecast and gale warnings map

Loading map…

Viking

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 4 or 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, but moderate or rough for a time.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

North Utsire

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 4 or 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

South Utsire

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly 4 or 5, but variable 3 or 4 at first.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain or showers, perhaps wintry.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Forties

Wind
Cyclonic, becoming north or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Cromarty

Wind
Cyclonic, becoming north or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Forth

Wind
Cyclonic, becoming north or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Tyne

Wind
Cyclonic, becoming northwest later , 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming moderate, occasionally rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Dogger

Wind
Cyclonic, becoming northwest later , 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming moderate, occasionally rough.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Fisher

Wind
North or northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Occasional rain.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

German Bight

Wind
Variable 3 or 4, becoming cyclonic 4 to 6, then becoming northeast later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Humber

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6, but variable 2 to 4 at first.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Thames

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Dover

Wind
Northeast 4 to 6.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Wight

Wind
Northeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 3 or 4 for a time.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Moderate or good.

Portland

Wind
North or northeast 4 or 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in south.

Plymouth

Wind
North or northeast 4 or 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, becoming slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor in south.

Biscay

Wind
Westerly or northwesterly, veering northerly later in north, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery at first.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Trafalgar

Forecast issued:

Wind
North 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later.
Sea state
Moderate, but slight or moderate until later in southeast.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

FitzRoy

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Sole

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 5, occasionally 6 at first.
Sea state
Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
Weather
Showers, perhaps thundery.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.

Lundy

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Fastnet

Wind
North or northeast 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Sea state
Smooth or slight, but slight or moderate in west.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Irish Sea

Wind
North or northwest, veering northeast later, 3 to 5.
Sea state
Smooth or slight.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally moderate.

Shannon

Wind
North or northwest 3 to 5.
Sea state
Mainly moderate.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good.

Rockall

Wind
North or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, occasional rain later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Malin

Wind
North or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate.
Weather
Showers, occasional rain later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Hebrides

Wind
North or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in north.
Weather
Showers, occasional rain later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Bailey

Wind
North or northeast 4 to 6, becoming variable 2 to 4, then becoming cyclonic 5 or 6 later.
Sea state
Slight or moderate, occasionally rough in north.
Weather
Showers, occasional rain later.
Visibility
Moderate or good, occasionally poor later.

Fair Isle

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very poor.

Faeroes

Wind
North or northwest 4 to 6, becoming cyclonic 3 or 4 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or wintry showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally very poor.

Southeast Iceland

Wind
Northerly or northwesterly becoming cyclonic, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 later, perhaps gale 8 later.
Sea state
Moderate or rough.
Weather
Rain or wintry showers.
Visibility
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.